An Important Date- May 12th

I don't often push for awareness things because most of the time, it's all just to raise money for groups that spend 99% on themselves and 1% on the people they claim to help. But May 12th is important because it's a day when awareness is so needed for Fibromyalgia and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. They say M.E. is the same as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also now called Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease or SEID, and while this is also an issue of May 12th awareness campaigns, these are 3 different diseases, all incurable.

On May 12th, I urge you to wear blue for M.E. and CFS or purple for Fibro. Then read something about these illnesses to educate yourself. Here are some great links:

THE HUMMINGBIRDS' FOUNDATION FOR M.E.

NATIONAL FIBROMYALGIA ASSOCIATION

National Alliance for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

M.E. Association

Then spread the word and educate someone else!!!!! Share a link on your FB page, look up some of the groups on FB and Twitter. There are so many amazing people out there sharing their stories about living with these diseases, which are considered invisible in many cases, because outwardly, we don't look like we feel. Help bring awareness to invisible illnesses and consider donating your money to one of many amazing projects for M.E. awareness:

Canary In a Coal Mine 

Fibro TV

Share a Star

The Microbe Discovery Project

The #MEAction Network

Dr. Enlander's M.E. and CFS Center at Mt. Sinai

And there are so many more!!

The symptoms of these diseases are so many, no two patients seem to have exactly the same blend of symptoms even with the same diagnoses.

Neutrinos and the Mysterious Blue Light

The first time I remember seeing something paranormal, there was this weird blue illumination to it, and to this day, when I'm working with the paranormal, it's often there. It's been there many times, around some apparitions, and not around others. Often, I see these blue lights I call the Fae, those little beings that came from the UK when folks immigrated to this country.These are little energies, spiritual, supernatural and beautiful, but often unseen, usually because disbelief makes it a whole lot harder to notice things. Often when I see spirits around people, they're bluish, and in many cases, I see the blue light when I'm doing photo or video readings, which is how I pull the information out of the photographic evidence.

Scientists have talked about neutrinos forever, and they still don't really know what they are or do. Interestingly, billions of them passed through the tip of your nose just reading the last word or two. No one knows what they are for, but recently scientists have been able to capture just briefly the light given off by neutrinos. Guess what? It's blue light. In fact, having seen a documentary on the topic, they showed the quick blip of blue light slowed down, and it was identical in shade and shimmer to the light I see when it appears with the paranormal.

Here's my theory: the neutrino is our connection to the Otherside. These little things move at a rate so fast we are unable to really capture them and cannot see them with the naked eye, yet they are a part of our world. My belief is that these neutrinos slow down when traveling from the Otherside to our own dimension. For me, they are the connection between the Otherside and our side. When the Othersiders come through, quite often, for me at least, they're bathed in a shimmering blue light.

Hope this helps explain a little of what I see when I'm working! Blessings to you all!

My Thoughts on Pay-to-Investigate Sites

I know from the beginning that there will be a lot of folks in the paranormal world who disagree with me, and that's fine. I don't expect that we're all going to agree all the time, and I know this is one area that tends to start people talking and usually telling me that it's just part of the field I need to accept, these pay-to-investigate sites. But I just don't like the idea of me paying someone to come in and investigate where everyone else has gone and done the same, and stirred up the Othersiders who reside there!

There are places like Old South Pittsburgh Hospital here in Tennessee that open their doors for a fee and allow teams or individuals to come in and investigate. Some even have the entire location rigged with their own equipment and for a further cost, you can get DVDs of what their equipment picked up over your stay. These locations are big draws, and I know that even smaller locations are now using this model to have teams investigate and turn a profit. I have even heard of an old train station that wants over $1000 for a team to come in for the night to investigate! That's outrageous! The typical cost seems to be around $75-100 per person for an overnight lockdown. I just don't like this business model at all for the paranormal field.

Now imagine, if you will, that every weekend, a new batch of total strangers comes into your home, bringing with them all kinds of equipment to measure everything you do or say for the night. How annoyed would you get with that? How fast would it be before you were kicking ass and taking names? For me, it'd be quick. I can't imagine having my energy in whatever form being stirred up for the enjoyment of others, especially overnight in my home. That's pretty much just pissing someone off just to get a rise out of them. I don't think getting a rise out of these Othersiders is good, honest investigating.

The issues really come when people start reporting that they're being physically affected in these locations. The word "demon" starts getting batted around because someone got scratched, when it is more likely that someone was sick and tired of strangers invading their space every weekend. Imagine how insensitive this would be in a functioning hospital! People would be absolutely incensed! Why do we expect anything different from the dead? We want evidence, but at what price? I believe there has to be a level of respect and understanding for the situation in which the person(s) died.

RIP Tennessee originally discussed the option of attending these types of events and I instantly thought about the Othersiders who are in those places, and how they would feel about the situation of their surroundings. I see them as I see everyone else, alive in their own way and worthy of respect. They are no less deserving than the living. We have chosen to not work in these locations. There are plenty of people out there who need help in their homes and businesses, plenty of cemeteries and historic locations to explore and research. There are thousands of years of history to research and all sorts of places to learn about and try to contact the departed. Of course, I don't believe teams should go into any location over and over; give the dead a break! The worst part of it all to me is paying for it. You're paying for an experience that has been set up to stir up the dead, and the dead get no benefit at all. I believe the Othersiders want to help us prove they exist, just not on a constant, harassment-type basis.

Research responsibly. Think about the dead not as something to hunt (they aren't deer) or as an amusement you can pay for, like a Halloween haunted house. Give them the respect they deserve. If you are lacking cases, work on your social media, advertising and broaden your horizons into various things to keep your calendar full- UFO watching, go on a Bigfoot search (with a trained team), do something different, but please, don't pay to just rile up a bunch of poor ghosts and spirits who are left wandering an old mental hospital or other scene. And always, always, say thank you for their time. Treat the dead as you would the living, and you will find that they treat you with more respect as well.

What's In A Name?

Many people call themselves mediums or psychics; many claim to have the ability to read your tarot cards or do your numerology or astrology chart. The high number of fakes out there is astounding. People will charge others a fortune to do readings, which are often cold readings (a psychological method of carefully reading a person's responses and running with it), or they claim that for a fee, a demon or curse can be removed.

If a person is calling themselves by one of these names and says they can help you for a fee, RUN! They're in it for the money. I don't doubt I'll have a comment or 2 about this from those who say that charging a fee is fair for the exchange of a service(s). Many believe that if a person wants good results, they have to write a check first. I wholeheartedly disagree with this idea that charging people somehow makes one more accurate. If that's the case, they should really consider another line of work.

I call myself a medium for lack of a better word. I'm able to go into the fog and connect. To me, it's a gift and a curse, but I refuse to charge others for my use of my gift. If someone needs help, and I can help, I do. It is the same with all things in my life, from food drives to being neighborly. If I can help someone, I help them. I don't ask for payment, I do it out of kindness and because what goes around, comes around. Karma is a very real, active, and fickle thing.

I recently heard of a 'medium' who told a client she was being attacked by a demon and that for $1500 she could get rid of the demon. Now, that is a pretty bold statement! Firstly, she's assuming that she has the ability to deal with this paranormal being but only if she first receives payment for it. She's not a 'medium' in my opinion, she's just another scammer. A true connection isn't made because money changes hands. It is made because the medium knows what he or she is doing, and is willing to take on whatever is there. One also has to be willing to say "I don't know" or "I can't help" and also help to find someone who is able to help. I actually heard a famous medium once on TV who swore she was never wrong, and then was proven to be wrong moments later! She's a great cold reader, and if you know what to watch for, her show is a good study in psychology.

It's also important to be sure you choose someone who has some knowledge about not only the paranormal, but the history of your area, the folklore associated with the local people and land, and someone with a good background in various world religions. This assures that the medium is able to work within a blended spiritual framework if necessary. For example, I am personally Pagan, but I am also an ordained non-denominational minister, and am quite comfortable working with a Catholic or Baptist, Hindu or Buddhist, or anyone else. If someone is Catholic and wants a priest, I will help them contact someone. If they want a specific blessing, either I will offer it or help them find someone who will. I don't take it personally if they want a specific religious person to assist, nor do I find any problem working within the client's religious affiliation to create the most comfortable situation for them. Any paranormal team should be willing to find outside help for themselves or the client when needed. We can't all specialize in everything, but we should all be well-educated in the various aspects of our practice.

There is a lot in a name. To call oneself a medium or psychic these days doesn't take much more than a Facebook page. Some people I've talked to have one paranormal experience and believe they're a medium. I've been asked to train people who haven't had a single experience that would make me think they have these abilities. It's not so easy. I have literally spent my entire life learning about my abilities, my gifts. I have to work at them. I have to continue to study and expand my knowledge of all sorts of aspects of investigation to keep up with the newest information. Being a medium isn't just a thing you do at the drop of a hat, or for a fee, or for fame. It is something you do with a great deal of personal sacrifice, extensive study and practice, and only with altruistic intentions. Anything else is not real, not genuine, and not sincere. Don't be afraid to ask questions of a medium about their experience. Most importantly, don't ever pay for these services. Donations are one thing, and should always go to the team as a whole, and only when you can absolutely afford it. Money should never change hands just so someone can get rich quick by being a scammer and a fraud.

Be careful out there! And if you're working in the field, be honest with yourself and others. Seek training and advice if needed. Be honest and sincere, and your gifts will be shared in the right way! As a client, remember that someone who doesn't really have a clue what they are doing can make things worse for you, and can have negative effects themselves. Keep yourself, and your money, safe and sound. Ask questions, never hand over money, and please, just because one person calls everything a demon doesn't mean that's the case. Use common sense when listening to a medium or a team, and don't be afraid to get a second opinion before you freak out and hunt down an exorcist!

The Ouija Board & Why I Won't Use One

The Ouija Board is a point of contention among paranormal investigators. Some say it's a portal for demons, others say it's a great way to communicate. I say it's bunk, and I'll explain why.

First, grab yourself a shoestring or any string about a foot long. Tie something to the end- a button, a small clip, something with a bit of weight to it, but nothing fancy is needed. Now, hold your arm out straight and keep your arm and hand still, holding the end of the string, letting the weight hang. You'll notice that no matter how still you try to remain, the "pendulum" will invariably move in a circular pattern or back and forth, its own kinetic energy allowing it to build and swing more and more. You can even begin to ask questions and see the pattern shift from one direction to another. This is known as Chevreul's Pendulum, named for the 19th century researcher who discovered this ideomotor effect.

This effect is seen as well with the ever-famous Ouija Board. It's seen with pendulum and dowsing rod use, and even amongst those facilitators who help those who need guidance to type out a message on a computer communication board. It's just how we work. Small little muscles move without realizing it, because our brains send out constant non-conscious thoughts. We want to see something happen, so we set up our bodies to make something happen, and we don't even realize we're doing it. In fact, people will swear that they aren't moving at all, yet there are movements in our bodies we're completely unaware of, and our brains will answer our questions if we ask them, bringing forth the non-conscious thoughts.

Reading Daniel Wegner's book The Illusion of Conscious Will can explain further the processes by which we create these movements without realizing them or meaning to, and why our brain connects these things to an outside force.

The first "talking board" was sold in a Pittsburgh toy shop in 1891 for $1.50. It was sold as an incredible way for people to get answers to questions, and indeed, some therapists actually use the Ouija Board with patients to understand more of what's going on in the inner mind. Kennard Novelty Company was founded and began production of the boards in 1890 on the tail of Spiritualism, and with a huge public interest in speaking to the dead, Charles Kennard joined some other businessmen to create a huge money-maker. None of them knew a thing about Spiritualism, but they knew how to make money and cash in on a fad.

The name "Ouija" is said to have come from the board itself, but more than likely was from a picture of a woman named Ouida whose name above her image was misread by the woman using the board when it mysteriously chose its own name. The board even received a patent, somehow, without even declaring how it worked, just saying that it did. Some say that some money may have been snuck around to make things happen. The woman using the board when it supposedly named itself was the sister of one investor, and she was sitting across from the image of Ouida at the time.

It was a movie that changed the Ouija Board from innocent talking board into a portal for demons. The Exorcist, a movie so loosely based on a factual story that it's considered fiction, was widely believed. Suddenly the Church and Christians around the world were declaring the board to be a portal for Satan and burning them on bonfires. Since the 1850s, scientists have studied and proven the ideomotor effect time and time again, even your crying at a sad movie is an ideomotor effect. It happens. It's undeniable scientifically. With a group of people, you have the ideomotor effects and non-conscious thoughts of a group of people, all expecting an outcome. Even if it makes no sense, 'replies' from the board are seen as messages. They are nothing more than messages from within the minds of those present with hands on the planchette.

Researchers have even discovered that our non-conscious brain is much smarter than we realized. When people answered questions in one study verbally, they were only right half the time, but they were right 65% of the time when they used a Ouija board. They thought they were using it with another person they could not see, but it was just a robot that mimicked their own movements, making them more impressionable. People thought the answers were from the Otherside, but they were just proving they were more intelligent than previously thought!

The Ouija Board has become a wonderful tool for psychologists and other medical professionals trying to discover the non-conscious brain, and it's proven to show promise in working with those with Alzheimer's disease. It is not, however, a good tool for paranormal investigators. Unless you believe your non-conscious brain is paranormal, you're really just exploring the depths of your own mind. All these ideomotor effects on various tools in the paranormal field (dowsing rods, pendulums, Ouija Boards, etc) are useless in trying to provide real scientific evidence of the Otherside. Our goal is to find solid evidence, not delve into our own minds on every investigation.

There will be those who call what I've said here bunk. That's ok. People have to believe in something. But if you are looking for a team to investigate your location, and they show up with a bunch of ideomotor tools, you might want to question their science and their approach. They're not stirring up demons from Hell, just those within their own minds. Often those are much more frightening than anything paranormal.

Slippery Time Slopes

The time slip is an elusive little bugger that happens when you least expect it. One moment you're standing in the present, and then suddenly things change. Time feels different, and looking around, everything changes. Perhaps electric lines and phone lines vanish, or homes change or vanish before your eyes. Sometimes, you find yourself standing in the center of a place far in the past where nothing is familiar except, if you're lucky, the terrain.

One example of this for me was one day when we lived in Colorado. I was on the phone, talking to Nathan, just looking out over the immense open field across from where we lived. I looked away, and looking back I saw a field full of Native Americans, tipis, animals, fires burning, skins and meat hung. It was so weird I thought somehow they'd set up an event, but in one moment as I looked away? Not possible. The image lingered for several minutes, and even the phone connection went kind of staticky. Then, just like that, it was gone. It was a time slip, where I looked back into another time, when the Natives were all over that area.

One more interesting example that happened to me here in Tennessee was at a case. We were investigating an apartment, and not much seemed out of sorts at first. I sit in the van while Nathan sets up tech and such so that everything I say is on recordings. I spend the time meditating and preparing. Well, this time, as he came out, I got out of the van and suddenly things faded. All the apartment complexes faded out of sight. I saw a village and was met by the spirit of a Native man who was none too happy about his village being removed for these buildings. Understandable, of course! But he used a time slip of sorts to show me the beauty that was there before the white men came. It broke my heart and even sitting here typing it, I recall him and feel his sorrow.

Another type of time slip that can happen is one where two periods of time intermingle. Most fans of GH (a paranormal show) know of the Princess asking who was in her room on one episode. They had asked if the Princess was there, and her reply was to ask who was present. The two times interlapped- she heard them and couldn't see them, and vice versa. Times overlap where they know we're there, and we're hoping they do, aren't we? I want them to know I'm there, in their time!

Time is not a thing that exists outside of our limited consciousness. Time, as a concept humans have tried to tie down, is fluid, moving around itself in ribbons, bringing one moment into another, and just as quickly back out again. Time is like water that impresses all it touches. It can come on like a rage or gently, fast or slow, depending on life's rocks and fallen trees across the river of time. Time is a creature, a being, not a number on a clock on the wall.

When investigating, I love to watch for slips in the timeline. They happen more often than most people perceive. Whether you join the past or future, make the most of every moment you have.

"How did it get so late so soon?" ~~Dr. Seuss

Your Questions- My Final Answer

Recently, I left a volunteer position for various reasons, and now I seem to have developed a "secret" fan club. Following me on FB and Twitter- I see those things. Liking my pages on FB- I see that too.

I changed my FB security for various reasons, but the creepiest was that I was suddenly unfriended and then followed by some people associated with the position I recently left. Creepy, right?

Anyway, I'm really tired of some of the crap that I've been dealt since leaving said volunteer position. Should I say that once more? VOLUNTEER. I gave my time, energy, passion, knowledge and more, and yet was treated like less than a partner and more like a do-bitch. My use of intelligent terminology was made fun of on live radio, my desire to make the show one of the highest morality was quashed by flirting, sex talk, and talk of making radio babies with others by people who had more control than I. In a committed relationship, you don't talk about fucking and having babies with other people at all, but certainly not in public. It's just icky, to say the least. Finally, I was TOLD to go against my beliefs in what would be good for me professionally. I don't take kindly to being told to do anything, ask my husband. Ask, and if I say no, you best believe my reasons are excellent, and I'm happy to give them all (and did, for the record).

Let me say this once and for all- I don't compromise my morality for ANYONE. Not for any reason. When my name gets attached to something, it's going to be only because I agree with EVERYTHING that happens. In this case, I had many conversations regarding my issues, and obviously, painfully, I wasn't heard. I did not agree to tag my name along with what I consider highly immoral and unprofessional behavior, and so I left when these things became more than I could take.

Yes, my health is bad, and yes, it just keeps getting worse. I'm too sick to put in endless hours, often till 3 or 4 am, trying to make someone's life a success while putting mine at risk. I wanted to help, and if people had any clue what I really did (everything but the interviews) they would know I gave everything I had, but I don't compromise my beliefs and morality.

For those of you who have any more questions as to why I made my choice, this is about all there is to it, but feel free to email me and ask. I'm no one's do-bitch, and no one's going to bend my moral compass to suit their desires, I don't care if the whole world wants to try.


Art, like morality, consists in drawing the line somewhere.

Gilbert K. Chesterton