ARTICLE

THE FRONTIER OF EXPERIMENTAL SPIRITSM. EXCERPTS FROM "MIDNIGHT WATCH", A RECENT ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE "NEW SCIENTIST" MAGAZINE ON PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION RESEARCH

The respected british magazine "New Scientist" published in  its  1998 December issue an interesting article on "Ghost haunting". The  article discusses the use  of  modern  technology,  "an  arsenal  of  detector paraphernalia", in the study of apparition  of  ghosts.  This  article interests us very much, since it points out  that  modern  instruments have been able to record several unexplained phenomena  that  we  know belong to  the  class  of  physical  manifestation.  Read  below  some excerpts from this article by Andy Coghlan.

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But today's ghost hunters are after more than mere  fantasy.  For  the first time, they are armed with affordable yet  sophisticated  sensors and recording equipment. And they are beginning  to  turn  up  unusual physical measurements from "hauntings" as well as  intriguing  if  not entirely convincing photographic evidence.(...)

Even allowing for attention-seekers, pranksters and fraudsters, common threads are emerging from the more reliable data collected by  today's spirit sleuths. Paradoxically, some data are proving to  be  of  equal value to both skeptics and believers. Unusual magnetic field data, for example, are seen by believers as the telltale signatures  of  ghosts, but  by  skeptics  as   freakish   natural   phenomena   that   induce hallucination.

Whatever  their  interpretation,  the  findings  have   a   degree   of credibility because many seasoned investigators are themselves seeking rational  explanations.  Most  confess  to  never  having  seeing   or experienced the very phenomena that they investigate, relying  instead on the  flickering  needles  of  their  instruments  to  sample  these invisible entities. To find their quarry,  most  visit  haunted  sites alongside  professional  phychics  [mediums]  who  claim  to  see  and experience the spirits. These sensitives accomplices  point  to  where the ghosts are and the investigators  wade  straight  in  with  their equipment humming, whirring and clicking.

Of the emerging evidence, the most convincing is of sharp  fluctuating magnetic fields at the spots where ghosts appear. "In the areas  where people see things you get much higher readings", says Loyd Auerbach, a California-based  trustee  of  the  American  Society  for   Psychical Research. Background levels are  about  1  or  2  milligauss,  but  at hautings,  wildly  fluctuating  readings  peak  at  as  much  as   100 milligauss.

Liebeck, meanwhile,  says  that  the  electrical  component  of  these strange fields is usually a static DC  field  like  those  emitted  by biological systems such  as  mammals,  not  an  AC  field  typical  of electrical circuits. And these ghostly  electromagnetic  fields  don't stay in one place. "They float from one room to another, and vary from the size of a baseball to a basketball," says Liebeck.(...)

Portable infrared thermometers which register temperature remotely are "de rigueur", as they reveal intense cold spots wherever  the  ghostly magnetic fields occur."The  ambient  temperature  typically  drops  by between 20 and 35 degrees centimeters where  these  phenomena  occur", says Dave Oester, cofounder of the International Ghost Hunters Society in Crooked River, Oregon. "The tips of your fingers  turn  white  with cold at these spots,  even  in  ambient  temperatures  of  40  degress centigrade", confirm Liebeck.(...)

Most ghost hunters would dearly love the ability to see in  the  dark. Many  of  the  most  dedicated  sleuths  already  have  "night-vision" binoculars which amplify light levels in  the  gloom  of  night  by  a factor of 30 000 or more. Some even bathe the environment in  infrared light, which shows up  objects  even  more  clearly.  "We've  observed full-body apparitions using infrared  night-vision  binoculars",  says Oester. "The infrared illuminates objects, making the phenomena glow." (...)

(...,says Oester.)"The spirits are electromagnetic in nature, and they use the extra energy available to manifest themselves." This need  for energy might account for the sudden drops in temperature  when  ghosts appear.

A favorite theory is that ghosts are  some  kind  of  electromagnetic entity etched into the environment. "There  are  two  basic  types  of ghosts", says Liebeck. "Hauntings" are  those  phenomena  that  appear without interacting  with  people  or  the  environment  -  "like  the playback  of  a  video  recording",  he  says.  The  other,  far  more intriguing type of ghost is the "apparition", where the ghost seems to have "intelligence" and can interact with humans. "A haunting is  like a  prerecorded  videotape,  whereas  an  apparition  is  more  like  a video conference", says Auerbach. "The apparitions react to what people are saying or doing. It's as if the ghosts are  trying  to  play  with people.

"Apparitions tend to behave like they did when they were  alive,  and do things to people and  for  people",  he  adds.  But  he  offers  no explanation  for  how  this  could  be.  "It's  an  energy  form   of consciousness, and the psychological conditions of the person who died and something in the environment allow someone to  stick  around",  he says. "I've talked to physicists about it, but at this point in  time, there isn't an explanation".

Oester says that most of  the  cases  he  is  called  to  are  not  in traditional "spooky" places, but in new homes. "The  most  common  are hauntings in which a spirit has adopted  a  family,"  he  says.  "They almost have a guardian-spirit arrangement, especially around children, and  the  ghost  is  often  a  helpful,  motherly  type.  We've  never encountered demonic or evil-type hauntings," he says.

Even among open-minded skeptics who hanker  for  rational,  verifiable explanations, some experiences have left them puzzled. Wilkinson,  for example, is still mystified by video  footage  from  a  case  when  an infant in Leicestershire had  supposedly  been  talking  to  a  female spectra. The parents claimed that a  wind-up  mobile  which  played  a Brahms lullaby could sometimes be heard in the  dead  of  night,  even though the child was unable to operate  it.  Sure  enough,  the  video caught the mobile spontaneously playing. "It went off fully, the child stirred slightly and the siamese cat wandered in and out again",  says Wilkinson. "We have absolutely no explanation for that".(...)

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Comments on this lines are welcome in the next issue of "The Spiritist Messenger".

WHAT DO ASTROLOGY AND GENETICS HAVE IN COMMON ?
Ademir  L.  Xavier Jr.

Nowadays there has been a lively discussion on the old question of the mind, on how consciousness is established and operates. The materialist position (which form a substantial part of the opinion put  forward  by the majority of scientists, notably from the biological  circles)  has gained a new impetus by genetics which tend to state  that  the  human mind (and  consequently,  the  very  core  of  the  human  nature  and individuality)  is  more  or  less  under  the  influence  of   atomic connections that take part inside the cells which compose our bodies. In the lack of any well stablish theoretical  background which could sufficiently explain  the  mind  phenomena,  this  idea  is  obviously accepted as a good hypothesis  of  work.  However,  as  a  materialist concept, it tends  to  strongly  limit  one  of  the  most  mysterious properties of the human nature: free will. One  understands  free-will as an inner human capacity to  freely  decided  between  two  possible options or among several possibilities based on deep introspection. In this choice, we are convinced that nothing external to us act upon our decision, we are not  "remotely  controlled"  or  "pre-programmed"  to decide between this or that.

I would like here to draw a  parallel  between  the  almost  unlimited possibilities foreseen by genetic engineers and an old  belief  of  our ancestors. What do genetic engineering and astrology  have  in  common with each other? Viewed in their own times, both are  taken  in  great regard by their societies and have the privileged of being consider as great endeavors of humankind. In the past, the study of the  position and motion of celestial bodies played a very important role in ancient societies since it was thought that the stars  in their turn played  a crucial role in the predisposition and destiny  of  human  beings.  In their studies, astrologers discovered several celestial  phenomena  of importance.  They learned how to predict  solar  and  lunar  eclipses, they invented accurate calendars and contribute to increase societies' wealth by the benefits of their inventions in agriculture and  in  the regulation of time. No one doubts that astronomy (considered as mother of physics and of great importance to natural history) was  born  from ancient  astrological  studies.  Let  us  look  now  at  genetics. It constitutes one of the prime research fields  of  the  present,  being responsible  for  a  variety  of  truly  scientific  contributions  in biology, medicine, veterinary, agriculture etc. In  their  studies, biologists are unveiling the hidden mechanisms of  the  genes, making possible the cure of a large number of diseases and the production  of crucial substances that improve  humans  health.  At  the  same  time, genetics has projected new biological systems never  imagined  before. It is not our aim here to discuss the advantages or  disadvantages  of such findings, if they are for the good or bad. Let us only  recognize that such discoveries can not be ignored and are doom to deeply change our society's future forever. So far they seem to  have  attained  the same status of the discoveries of the old astrologers.

Astrology however  was not initially  developed  aiming  at  practical inventions. Its chief objective was the revelation  of  unknown  facts, the future of people. Its basic principle was that a  person  is  born under the sign of the stars, that is, part of his future  is  more  or less linked to the position of the planets in the zodiac  (*)  at  the time of his birth. This idea boldly assumed that humans free  will  is limited in a  philosophical  sense  and  this  constitutes  the  second converging point to our parallel with genetics.  Substitute  "position of the planets" by "molecular arrangements of the constituents of  the genes" and  you  will  have  almost  the  same  thing.  The  celestial predisposition was changed by the molecular one  (or  better,  quantum mechanical) through still unknown relationships. Thus, according  to both old astrology or some interpretations in modern genetics, as  far as our personality is concerned and how much it can affect  our  fate, we are born pre-programmed at exactly the time of our birth.

From the methodological point of view of both  disciplines  (astrology and  genetics)  there  are  also  some  traces  of   similarity.   The combination of certain genes and the position of certain  planets  are thought  to  correlate  with  different  patterns  of   behavior   or tendencies in people. The only difference is that, if a given tendency should be avoided, astrology can only suggest  changing  the  date  of birth  (**),  while  genetics  struggles  to  chemically  modify   the genetical content of the mother cells in  the  hope  of  changing  the behavior in time. One notices also that they both do  not  ignore  the important role played by the environment which considerably affect the pre-programmed script.

From the historical point-of-view, since science has taken  the  place of religion in our modern society, it is quite natural that  something should replace the doctrines which  had  a  direct  relationship  with human's fate. Genetics thus replaced astrology.

From  the  Spiritualist  point-of-view  such  common  trends  are  not surprising. They come from a misunderstanding on regard to  the  human nature. The spirits were very clear  with  respect  to  pre-programmed schemes affecting human's life. In Question 121 [1] of  "The  Spirit's Book", Kardec asked the spirits on why some spirits follow the road of good while others of wrongdoing, to which the spirits replied

"God creates all spirits simple, unenlightened, and  equally  disposed towards good   and  bad.  That  is,  God  gives  them  free-will.  The wrongdoers choose that path for themselves."

This answer is very interesting. The spirits are endowed with  free-will that constitutes a property of their condition of being  spirits.  One understands  that  if  that  were  not  so,  God  would  be   directly responsible  for  the  evil,  the  spirits  being  merely   programmed automata. One could asks why God had not created all spirits  inclined toward the good. Besides, what would be then the usefulness  of  being spirits? In other words, without free-will the idea  of  spirit  seems meaningless. It is worth to point out here that the idea of  free-will seems incompatible with materialism, the idea that mind is a byproduct of brain activity seen as a mere ( and no  matter  how  much  complex) computer. However, this answer did not satisfied  Kardec  himself  who then replied with Question 122:  "How  can  spirits,  who  don't  have self-consciousness initially, possess freedom of choice? Do they  have some inner principle or tendency that inclines them towards  one  road and not the other?" The answer was

"The spirit develops free-will as  it  gains  self-awareness.  If  its decision were cued by internal pre-programmed principles,  the  spirit wouldn't have any free-will. On the contrary, the  relevant  cues  are external to the spirit, they  are  the  scores  of  influence  in  its milieu.  How  it  chooses  to  respond  to  the  different  situations determines how it progresses.  The  significance  of  this  choice  is depicted in the parables of 'the fall of man' and 'the original  sin': some spirits made better decisions than others."

This answer is again very illuminating. "The scores  of  influence  in its milieu" constitute all relevant external influences  that  actuate upon the spirit's life. The decision on which path to take before such influences belong solely to the spirit itself all the time  along  its journey. By such scores I understand not only the uncountable number of facts that the spirit faces during its  several  lives  but  also  the special conditions created by its material body at  the  time  of  its reincarnation. Thus the role of  genetics  is  not  to  define  humans personality but limit or set  free  the  spirit  capabilities  through special arrangements in the spirit's body  understood  as  a  material tool. The influence of  materiality  however  depends  on  the  spirit degree of development. In its initial stages, it is very natural  that the incarnated being be strongly attached to the body constrains.  As the spirits improves the material bonds become weaker and  the  spirit is more free to take decision that refute the natural laws dictated by such bonds.

Practical examples of such relative spiritual freedom is already found in our society:

1) The freedom of choice of a couple between having or  not  children. As is well known, reproduction is a natural law by which the genes are passed to future generations in a process which  constitute  the  very core of evolution. If a certain species stop reproducing it inevitably disappears. Human beings, however, mysteriously can refute  biological evolution and decide not to reproduce. If we admit  that  animals  and humans have the same origin and nature (they are spirits in  different steps of the spiritual evolutionary staircase),  such  bizarre  choice should be understood as consequence of  the  human  acquired  relative freedom.

2) The inumerous patterns of varied human  behavior  before  sex.  The author understands that homosexuality, transsexuality and asexually are  natural  consequences,  in  different  degrees  however,  of  the spirit's freedom from its material bounds in the sense exposed  above. There has been countless theories to explain homossexualism  based  on different starting hypothesis. Some of them emphasize  the  importance of the "genetical baggage" while others the environment. No converging and satisfactory explanation has been found however. As  a  matter  of fact, the crucial points seems to be the lack of a coherent  image  of the human being to which the Spiritist Doctrine has so much to  offer. In fact reincarnation is the key to understand  several  psychological phenomena and homosexuality if a notable example.

(*) The  zodiac  is the  region  of  the  celestial  sphere  containing  the  12  zodiacal constellations (in the astronomical sense 13) linked by  the  ecliptic, the sun's path in the sky along the year.

(**) In the impossibility ofchanging the position of the planets.

We may be tempted to shrug our shoulders before the powers of evil.

How can we overcome temptation? May the faith be seen through us.

We need to see Christ's lessons  in  all  circumstances.  We  grow  in Jesus's love as we live by faith each day. The disciple  proposes  and the Master disposes.

Many people spend their lives forever anxious  and  angry  over  every little trifle. They look as if they live on selfishness and cruelty  in constant dissatisfaction.

How must we  avoid  this  failure?  First,  it  means  changing  their attitude from self-pity to one of courage and  fight  on.  Besides  we must vaccinate ourselves against fear.

The power of prayer is our strength. Some of  its  fruits  are  peace, hope, joy, love and encouragement.

We trust in Jesus. Then why do we not look to Him at all times for the things we need?

He said: "The Kingdom of God is with you". We should never forget  the divine purpose and the divine direction.

Each soul has its own credit. Faith is revealed by  deeds.  When  man helps somebody in Christ's name, Christ answers this  man  by  helping him through somebody.

However, we must pray always. We should not underestimate the value of our communication with God.

Will we have to go through hard times? Are our spirit low? Let  us  go on praying.

Prayer is light and our guidance in our own thoughts.

"Come Ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a  while:  for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so  much  as to eat" Jesus (Mark 6:31)