What does it mean to be a parapsychologist, anyway?
In the true sense of the word, a parapsychologist uses the scientific method to research and study paranormal phenomena. There are no degrees (except for a minor from Franklin Pierce University) or accredited programs for this. While globally there are research laboratories that have the funding to pursue testing clairvoyance or remote viewing, the rest of us are left with a particularly strange intellectual pursuit.
Even while exploring the various facets of paranormal research I was drawn to ghost hunting, or we can also say, debunking. As a scientist, it’s my job to look for other plausible explanations other than paranormal activity. Would I love to say it’s a ghost and I have definitive proof? Absolutely. Am I going to make a false claim to sell the idea? No.
Parapsychologists are looking for the truth in a veritable well of unknowns. Somewhere deep inside me is the gut feeling the brain is wired to do so much more than most people are capable of. Investigating paranormal phenomena with the Greater Hartford Paranormal Society has allowed me to explore two different facets of parapsychology; the idea of spiritual presence beyond physical death and the human capacity to serve as medium between these two worlds.
Many people have asked me how, as a skeptic and researcher, I am able to work alongside two mediums… a decidedly untested, unproven method of ghost tracking. The simple answer, I know them. The complicated answer, I look for hard evidence to back them up. The more evidence I cannot explain, the more exciting my research becomes.
While there are no sound tests to measure paranormal phenomena such as EVP’s, it doesn’t mean the possibility does not exist for us to discover in the future. L.E. Modesitt, Jr. crafted a novel where ghosts walk and talk amongst the living, lingering out in the open as it was normal. In his alternate universe, ghosts are very much real.
If nothing from science fiction became fact, we would not have contemporary robotics or probes launched to Mars. Rather than looking at parapsychology and ghost tracking as wishful thinking, think of it as an unrealized potential. The answers are out there, and I’m looking for them one case at a time.
In case you missed it, here is Part One.
I do believe the amount of sites that strive to “grow their fan base by communication” is usually increasing. Many individuals jumped into creating websites and writing without realizing the importance of creating a relationship with their viewers. Like you have here, congrats.