2003 DPE Reports

November 2003 DPE Report

By The Revs. Tom and Lisa Butler, NST

Articles on Survival. All of the articles in the April 2003 Journal of the Society for Psychical Research were on survival or post mortem communication. One article, “The Concept of Survival and the Development of Parapsychology,” by Carlos Alvarado, addressed two prevalent misconceptions. One misconception is that non-survival explanations for mediumistic phenomena did not exist before the founding of the Society for Psychical Research (SPR) in 1882 and the other is that parapsychology developed in spite of the survival issue. Alvarado shows that the works of early spiritualists preceded the majority of significant theoretical issues in psychical research. Alvarado concludes by saying, “Some may say that parapsychology started to move forward when the field was able to conquer such superstitious ideas as survival, and such primitive and inefficient methodologies as séance studies. But there is a different way to see these developments. Instead of thinking that parapsychology has progressed because it has discarded the metaphysical and the spiritual, we may assert the opposite. Change has taken place thanks in part to the contributions of such ideas as that of survival of bodily death, and not simply in spite of it.”

Communication with the Dead. An article in the July Daily Record was titled, “We Talk To The Dead, Celebs queue up to reveal psychic secrets.” The author Lindsay Clydsdale states, “It used to be a taboo subject, but is fast becoming a must-have talent among celebrities—the ability to communicate with the dead.” She mentions several stars like Barbra Streisand and Sir Paul McCartney and their experiences with communicating with the so-called dead. She writes, “…it seems the sixth sense could soon be as commonly used as the first five, with the number of people having strong supernatural experiences continuing to rise. New research reveals that more than one in three people have had an After-Death Communication (ADC), though some experts claim the figure could be even higher.”
From: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/

Afterlife still Taboo for Some. An article titled, “Who’s Afraid of Life After Death?” by Neal Grossman, Ph.D. appeared in the fall 2002 issue of the Journal of Near-Death Studies. In the article Grossman states that evidence for an afterlife is strong enough that an unbiased person would be able to conclude materialism is a false theory, yet the academic world refuses to even consider it. There is a taboo among academics in addressing or even considering spiritual matters. Psychical researchers convinced that materialism is false have allowed this taboo to infiltrate their work as well, often hedging their remarks and not taking a firm stand. Grossman states that psychical researchers have “…amassed sufficient evidence to render the hypothesis of an afterlife very probable and the hypothesis of materialism very improbable.” From, “The Mindset of Scoffers,”June 2003 ARPR Bulletin by Michael Tymn.

Painter Inspired by a Psychical Researcher. The April 2003 Paranormal Review, Issue 25, ran a piece written by Guy Lyon Playfair in their “Mediawatch” section pertaining to the art work of the late painter Francis Bacon (1909-1992). Bacon’s paintings between the late 1940s and 1950s appear to have been inspired by photographs of ectoplasmic materializations from Albert Schrenck-Notzing’s book, The Phenomena of Materialisation. Playfair writes that, “…Bacon’s figures are often seated in what looks remarkably like a séance-room cabinet, some of them looming toward the viewer much as materialized spirits are said to do.”

Beware; some books may not be what they seem! We were surprised to see that The Encyclopedia Of The Paranormal was edited by Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) member Gordon Stein. The Encyclopedia is published by Prometheus Books which was founded by Paul Kurtz. Kurtz is also the founder and chairman of CSICOP. There are several other encyclopedias that rely on facts rather than opinions; one of them is J. Gordon Melton’s Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology.

New book on Electronic Voice Phenomena. It is with great satisfaction that we announce the introduction of a new book about Electronic Voice Phenomena and Instrumental Transcommunication. This joint effort by Lisa and Tom Butler has been inspired by the need for an effective educational text concerning the nature of these phenomena and how they substantially prove the case for personal survival. From the back cover

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Anyone interested in communication with a departed loved one or learning more about the “Other Side” will want to read this book.

Many may be shocked to learn that the so-called dead have been communicating across the veil through electronic devices since the early 1900s.

More than anecdotal evidence exists that we survive physical death and that our loved ones on the “Other Side” continue to communicate with us. Indeed, objective evidence collected from Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) and Video Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) reveals that they actively seek ways to contact us and to offer guidance on improving these communications.

Obtaining paranormal voices is not difficult. It can be achieved by anyone following a few simple steps, and with equipment most people already have in their home. This book includes simple instructions for experimentation and explores the body of EVP and other evidence already accumulated by respected scientists and researchers around the world. There are also instructions for experimenting with Video ITC.

This book includes a history of EVP and ITC, numerous examples from researchers and their stories, instructions for conducting EVP and ITC experiments and a discussion of what is known about these phenomena

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The book is $18.00 plus shipping and applicable Nevada tax. You can purchase signed copies from http://book.aaevp.com, or by sending a request to the address shown below. You can also order the book from the NSAC book store or other online outlets.