Are psychics real? Can they really do all the things they claim – like read minds, foretell the future, or talk to dead people? I can’t vouch for every claim made, but several years ago I became acquainted by someone whom I consider to be an authentic psychic – Dougall Fraser, and have since attended a few of his talks and workshops. What I’ve learned during the workshops as well as through observation of his style and honesty has convinced me that, understood correctly, psychic “abilities” are very real.

I recently saw Dougall at a talk he gave in Mountain View a few weeks ago. During his talk he gave readings for a handful of people in the audience, and there were a couple of things that I took note of.

Often times psychics will give readings for an audience by throwing out a guess and seeing if it resonates with anyone – something along the lines of “I’m sensing an older male whose name begins with a P …” Chances are someone can match it with someone else in their life, so it’s easy to debunk that type of approach.

Dougall Fraser does not use this approach. Instead, he would pick someone from the audience and then give a brief reading based on the colors he saw around the person. It seemed as if he picked people whose colors jumped out at him or intrigued him in some way. And what he had to say resonated with the handful of people had time for that evening.

The other thing that impressed me was that he acknowledges that sometimes he just gets it wrong. He doesn’t claim to be infallible and doesn’t try to cover up for a bad reading or try to make it work no matter what. Not to say that any accuracy in his readings is due to random chance. No, his hit rate is too high for that to be the case.

But the main reason I’m convinced that there is actually something real happening is based on my own experience. Dougall Fraser believes that everyone can learn to be a real psychic, and so conducts workshops to help people be on their way to develop those abilities. It was during one of those workshop that I saw firsthand what it’s like to pick up impressions that have some connection with the outside world.

These impressions are subtle, and require two things in order to be perceived, especially at first – stillness and attention. It was after some meditation and exercises to open up our consciousness that I knew that another participant had a daughter. I wasn’t trying to play detective or pick up on cues … I actually saw a young woman that had an obvious strong connection with this gentleman, and I knew she was his daughter. The focus was intense so I also knew that she was his only child. It’s hard to explain the sensation of “knowing”, but it was there.

So What Now?

The scientific side of me does believe that eventually science will discover the physical mechanisms that are at work to make psychic abilities authentic. The fact that science hasn’t reached that discovery doesn’t detract from the fact that something is going on that enables people to gather information in a way not easily explained. But be warned, there are charlatans out there who do play on people’s beliefs and who are masters of psychology. This makes it even harder to figure out what is real and what is not.

The thought of experiencing psychic abilities was intriguing to me at first. But for some reason I don’t feel the desire to work (and yes, it would take work) to develop them to any meaningful level. Maybe because I don’t have to develop them … what little I’ve seen and experienced is enough.

Learn more about Dougall Fraser and his awkward path to modern psychic in his book But You Knew That Already: What a Psychic Can Teach You About Life.

Encounters with strangers can be very enlightening experiences, full of opportunities for learning about yourself. But often times the overwhelming lesson I come away with is how connected we all are. A couple of occasions – synchronicities and strange encounters – definitely gave me the sense that there is a spiritual connection that is always there, even though hidden from normal awareness.

Soul Recognition

A few months ago I experienced some kind of dissociative state while I was going out to grab a bite to eat. I’m still not sure what happened, but it occurred during a trip to a local taco shop.

The place was Chipotle’s. A place for good, fresh tacos and burritos, that has become a favorite place for a quick bite. You place your order at the front and they make it right there in front of you in assembly-line fashion. At this particular location in Cupertino, there is plenty of seating available and at the right time of day it can be a very lively, noisy environment.

So on this occasion when I stopped in it was one of those busy days with plenty of people seated, waiting in line at the order counter, or walking with their food. I gazed around the room as I approached the end of the line, and then became surprised when the first person who caught my attention looked awfully familiar. For a few moments I tried to recollect where I’d seen him before or why I felt I knew him, but nothing came to mind. I just couldn’t put my finger on it. All I knew was that his appearance, his hair, facial features, and expressions, all combined to give me the distinct impression that I had seen him before.

Finally I gave up trying to figure it out. Then I looked at another person nearby and she, too, looked very familiar. What a coincidence, I thought. But again, I couldn’t place where I had seen her before or recollect who she was. It was at this point that I started gazing over the entire room and, one by one, with each person I looked at, I felt I had seen them somewhere before! And I don’t mean that I had seen them there at Chipotle’s (though that can’t be ruled out), but it was more a feeling that each person’s face was not new at all, not unfamiliar in the slightest. They weren’t all in one group, either, but were the typical conglomeration of several individuals and small groups of people who all happened to decide to eat at Chipotle’s at that point in time. There was no reason I should have known ALL of them. And the frustrating part was that I couldn’t put my finger on where I could have possibly seen them before. I can’t adequately describe how bizarre it was to go from face to face, each time discovering that I had already seen that face, or even already knew who they were.

That has not happened again, and I’m not sure what to make of the experience. I do feel, however, that perhaps I really did know everyone there. Researchers on the subject of life after death have written books describing the process of soul migration, and how groups of souls often decide to incarnate at the same time. Normally there is no memory of previous incarnations, the time spent between lives, or the other souls encountered. Had what I experienced actually been a recognition on the soul level of other souls?

Are you my daddy?

This next account betrays behavior on my part that I’m not proud of. I’ll be open about it here because the entire account ties in with this theme of being connected with others, even strangers, at a hidden level.

I had just finished exercising at a local gym. It was a weekday evening, after work, and I was tired and somewhat impatient to get home. As I walked to the door, a woman with her small children were also leaving, but they seemed to be having problems actually getting through the door. I realize she had her hands full as there were two or three small children and maybe an older child with her that she was trying to get out the door.

Now the entrance to the gym was one of those double-swing doors and they ended up blocking half the doorway and weren’t moving fast enough for my impatient pace as I came up behind them. Actually, they didn’t seem to be moving at all. Since they were only blocking half the doorway (one door), I went around them and pushed on the other door to get passed and then walked right on through.

In my haste to leave, I didn’t notice that one of the children decided to move to the part of the doorway that I had just walked through, and so when I let go of the door it almost swung right into her. In fact, it would have hit her if the mom hadn’t shouted “look out!” and caught the door.

The door didn’t hit her, but then neither did I break my stride as I kept walking.

The mom didn’t seem too concerned, and didn’t appear to notice me at all. Still, I felt bad that the door could have hit the little girl – but not bad enough to say anything as the entire family followed me through the parking lot and right to my car (NOW they decided to move fast). No, they weren’t tracking me down – it just turned out that they, of course, happened to be parked right next to me! Yes, it was a fitting metaphor for my nagging conscience that itself followed me as I walked to my car.

I got in and drove away.

Two days later I went back to the gym, and again, after I finished my workout and proceeded to leave, the same family was leaving the gym at the same time. Another reminder of the events from two days prior. I took a deep breath and determined that I would not be impatient this time. Even though we all exited at the same time, there was no incident.

As I walked from the building I wondered if they recognized me at all. As if on queue, one of the children, a little boy, kept staring at me. He even started to walk alongside me, straying away from his family. Just when I began to wonder what was on his mind, he repeatedly asked me some question that I couldn’t understand. His older brother was walking with him and explained, very matter-of-factly, “He thinks you’re his Dad.” And then the kid showed me his hand-held video game he was playing with, as if wanting acknowledgment or approval. I just smiled, nodded, and continued to the car. That seemed to satisfy him.

I have not seen that family since.

So what forces were at work to bring strangers together in such as minor yet intriguing way? And why did one of them seem to recognize me, or at least think that he knew me?

The doors to that gym have since been replaced – with automatic sliding doors.

Is anyone truly a stranger?

Perhaps there are no true strangers. Spiritual tradition teach of the unity of all people. All we need to do is open our eyes to see the truthfulness of those teachings. We interact with others every day – we see people at work, at the grocery line, at the bank, at school. Some are familiar and others appear as total strangers. I believe that the true original sin is the concept that we are each separate from each other. If, instead, we could view all others as part of ourselves, then we could be happy when good fortune smiles on others. And we wouldn’t feel the need to take for ourselves at another person’s expense.

Several meditation traditions include the practice of blessing others at the conclusion of a meditation session. It starts with people that we care the most about, but eventually expands to encompass the entire world of humanity. That is the part that takes some practice to do with sincere feeling. But if we can open our eyes to the small clues that present themselves daily, we can see the truthfulness of it, and then feel sincere concern for all people everywhere. Such attitudes can go a long way towards healing a planet.

I believe I have a decent digital camera. It’s a Canon PowerShot A540 that I just got this past Christmas and I actually like it a lot. It’s easy to use and takes great pictures.

Except that sometimes small blemishes appear in the picture.

Maybe I shouldn’t complain. This is the digital age, after all, and pictures can be deleted and retaken. I’m not big on taking pictures, but with this digital camera I’ve taken over 250 pictures in the past few months. Only a hand full have shown these spirit orbs - ok, dust orbs.

And the curious thing is that they’ve appeared only in pictures that include my son. Evidence of paranormal phenomenon?

The first time was when we were hiking in a local state park. I thought it had something to do with the location. But the latest occurrence is in pictures I took in our home just before he left for his senior prom. I had been taking pictures of him and his date earlier in the evening. Just before he left for the actual even he spent a few minutes hanging out at our home shooting some pool, so I decided to take some more pictures.

Again, it wasn’t until I downloaded the pictures to my computer that I noticed some more orbs – this time in multiple shots. In two of the pictures, an orb seemed to position itself in the area of his attention, on the pool table. Below is one of those shots:

Depending on your monitor and browser, you may not be able to see the orb on the table. One thing I found interesting is that on digital displays the image is more pronounced if you view at an angle rather than straight on. Is there any significance in that? Beats me. Below is a closeup where I adjusted the brightness and contrast to get the orb to be visible on a different monitor.

The most dramatic shot is where these “orbs” are actually on his person. It looks like he’s being engulfed by them. Two are on his pant leg (again, the bottom orb might not be visible on some systems), some small ones are in front of him, and then some faint, larger ones high up the wall. What gives?

I was able to find more websites dealing with these orbs and many of them maintain that they are nothing more than dust in the air, close to the lens, that get caught in the flash. Apparently it’s not that uncommon with digital cameras, and similar effects can be duplicated by throwing dust in the air and then taking pictures with the flash. But then you get a sea of dust orbs.

Whatever the cause, apparently I’ll have to get used to the fact that some of my pictures will be “marred” by the occasional orb. And unless accompanied by truly frightening phenomenon, it won’t be anything to worry about.

Don’t you hate it when a speck of dust ruins a photograph?

But what if that blemish on your picture wasn’t caused by dust, or pollen, or water? What if your camera captured something that modern science cannot explain?

“Spirit Orbs” as they have been named, are probably the most common form of photographed paranormal phenomenon. Many feel that they are actually spirits of the deceased or some manifestation of conscious energy. Skeptics dismiss it as all the result of dust, pollen, water droplets, or some other known occurrence.

So what are they really?

Dust, water droplets, lens flares and other odd reflections can certainly create blemishes on a phtograph.

While there are pictures that seem clearly to be nothing more than the result of particles of dust stirred up, and others that are some sort of lens flare or flash reflection, I have also seen pictures that don’t easily fall into any of those categories. Even so, there will always be those who prefer to attribute it to flaws in the photography, while others will see evidence of paranormal phenomenon.

I can’t rule out either explanation for what I photographed last weekend.

An Orb’s Surprise Appearance

I took the boys up to Big Basin, California for a short hike. The weather was beautiful; the redwood trees were magnificent. Every so often we would investigate some area outside of the main path, and one spot in particular caught our attention. Behind one huge redwood tree was a small clearing that was very isolated from the rest of the area, being surrounded by dense trees and brush.

Well shaded, the side of the tree away from the path had a raised section formed by old roots. It seemed to form the focal point for the clearing.

This is a picture of that part of the tree.

I actually took that picture for reference, to compare it with this previous picture I took of my son standing on the platform.

After snapping the picture, I checked it on the LCD viewer and right away, near my son’s left shoulder, I noticed something that looked just like other pictures I had seen of so called “spirit orbs”.

Now this was on a beautiful day – no wind, no rain. We weren’t kicking around the dirt. Not that that constitutes proof that it wasn’t cause by one stray dust particle, but I took several pictures that day and nothing like this appeared in any of them. None except for this one.

The fact that it was at this particular location that the orb appeared gives further cause for wonder. Why do I say that?

Notice the object at the far left of the picture.

When we first saw the back of the tree, we noticed that someone had left a small pedestal with some flowers in it carefully positioned on the natural platform. Here is a close-up of it.

It was actually kinda creepy in a way. There was no writing, or note, or card, and it reminded me of those roadside memorials you sometimes see. It definitely looked like a tribute to something. Was it a memorial? And for what, or whom? Was it an altar? Was it part of some ritual?

Dust, or Paranormal Occurrence?

I’m trying to keep an open mind to the possibility that it is nothing more than light from my flash reflected off of a particle, made possible by the closeness of the flash to the shutter (common with digital cameras).

But is it just a coincidence that of all the pictures I took that day, I happened to take one of a dust particle that looked just like other pictures of purported spirit orbs, and it happened to be in the same location that someone used as some kind of memorial?

Could it be just that?

Either way, it was a magical experience, and part of me can’t rule out the possibility that this is more than just a camera playing tricks.

Remember that scene in the Matrix where Neo sees that little boy (or was it a girl?) bending a spoon just by looking at it? What if something like that were actually possible? What would that tell us about the potential of the human mind? How would that alter your notions of reality?

A couple of years ago, my youngest son (he was 11 years old at the time) had spent the day with a friend of his and his mom, and when they returned the friend’s mom had some news. “Chris, guess what your son did?” He then proceeded to show me a few pieces of silverware all bent and distorted. Turns out they had just attended a spoon-bending party.

What’s a spoon-bending party?

A guy named Jack Houck, a retired Boeing systems engineer, travels around leading these workshops called Psychokinesis (PK) Parties. His goal is to explore the potential of the human mind and teach people how to perform psychokinesis. So what goes on at these PK parties?

As my son explained it – first he (along with about twenty-five others, mostly adults) picked up a piece of silverware from a pile, and used a string pendulum to determine if the piece was a good candidate. “Will you bend for me?” he asked, and then the “answer” would be indicated by the swing of the pendulum. Yeah, that sounds weird, but I’ll explain more about that later.
After collecting a few pieces, the group was ready to begin. While holding a piece of silverware, they would shout at their piece “Bend! Bend! Bend!” Then they were supposed to stop thinking about the silverware while at the same time testing the piece in their hand – because the piece was supposed to turn soft enough to be bent with little effort.

Now my son had been taking a very “yeah, right” approach to this. Neither of my two boys buy into paranormal or spiritual ideas for that matter. But then he started to hear people shouting as, one after another, they bent their spoons and forks. When he noticed his own piece get really warm and soft, he just matter-of-factly started to bend and twist it – until it got hard again.

Below are the pieces that he bent.

And here is a close-up of one of them, showing how the neck is twisted several times.

Is this real?

The examples in the picture represent “kindergarden” level bending, in that the same bends could probably be accomplished using brute force. I have several reasons to suspect that my son did not use brute force to bend these – primarily his own acknowledgement that the silverware did, in fact, get soft. He also went into this with a skeptical attitude. I’ve tried to unbend the pieces and couldn’t, not unless I put all my strength into it. The other reason is that his friend’s mom accomplished a feat beyond the kindergarden level. She was able to bend the bowl of a spoon in half. Try doing that with your hands! So there is definitely something going on here beyond our everyday experiences.

Oh, and by the way, in case you’re thinking that what I’ve just described has nothing to do with the spoon bending in the Matrix – at some of these parties the tines of forks have bent by themselves without anyone touching them. But the implications go beyond fascination and amusement. It truly shows the potential of our minds, and I believe it teaches us some valuable concepts that we can apply in a practical sense.

Key Components for Successful Manifesting

I noticed a few factors here that were instrumental in successful spoon bending. These aren’t things that come naturally to most of us, so I believe that the party atmosphere helps people to overcome some learned patterns of behavior and beliefs.

First, of course, is creating the intention. The act of forcefully commanding the piece to bend accomplishes this, overcoming any idea that it is pointless to have such a desire. I believe that the pendulum testing also reinforces the thought that the piece of silverware will bend for you.

Another key is the “letting go” phase. Your mind has to actually be off the subject of trying to bend the spoon. This is one reason why people have more success accomplishing this when they are in a group setting. Often the silverware will bend after the person is distracted by what is going on with someone else. Somehow, your conscious mind interferes with the mechanism that accomplishes this. I believe that mechanism to be your subconscious mind. So many spiritual philosophies state that the subconscious mind has the ability to work miracles (from the viewpoint of the conscious mind). Some even claim that it is the subconscious mind that is “God”.

The final factor is the level of excitement present in the room. Positive energy. Positive feelings.

Now these concepts can be found within various spiritual teachings, and we can learn from them and apply them in our lives:

1. Make the intention
2. Let go
3. Be positive in our emotions

I believe it’s worthwhile to explore the effect that applying these principles has on such areas as physical healing, finances, and other life conditions.

In case you are interested in try to bend silverware yourself, I’ve provided a summary of the instructions.

Silverware Selection Instructions

As I stated earlier, I believe the value of this phase is that it reinforces in your mind the idea that the silverware will bend. If you are familiar with dowsing techniques, you can use your favorite method. Otherwise, you can create a simple pendulum with some string and a small weight tied to one end, such as a 3/4 inch plactic ball with a hole in it.

While dangling the weight, ask it to show you a ‘no’, then observe how it swings – either clockwise, counterclockwise, or maybe it rocks back and forth. Do the same while asking it to show you a ‘yes’. It should swing differently than it did for the ‘no’. You have now calibrated your pendulum.

Now hold the pendulum above a piece of silverware and ask ‘will you bend for me?’. Accept the piece if you get a ‘yes’, otherwise select another piece.

Silverware Bending Instructions

1. Take a piece of silverware and hold it between your thumb and forefinger, rubbing it gently at the neck.
2. Next, concentrate on a point inside your head, as if you are focusing intense energy there.
3. Now move this point of energy down through your neck, your shoulder, down your arm, through your fingers, and then into the silverware.
4. At this point, shout at the silverware “BEND, BEND, BEND!” – basically command the object to bend.
5. Now release the thought, relax, and at the same time monitor the stiffness of the silverware (by constantly testing the bendability with your fingers).

After a period of time that varies with each person, and usually when your mind is most distracted, you’ll notice that the silverware becomes extemely soft. This condition lasts for only a short while, so it is during this time that you twist and distort the silverware as much as you can, until it hardens.

If you try it, and it works, let me know!

Visit Jack Houck’s website for more information about his PK parties.