Sunday, June 12, 2011

Spiritual / Paranormal Activity News: Satanism, Personal Experiences and New SRI Cases

The Green Man

I grew up in suburbia in the north of England outside the old mill city of Bradford. Mum, Dad, my brother and I lived in a house that had only been built 30 years previous...built on old farm land. My brother and I both had our own rooms and we both had our own paranormal experiences.

Most people can not remember their experiences as a baby...this is normal, however I remember being scared of a green man standing in the corner of the room who had red eyes and horns. It scared me so much...it terrified me as a baby and young toddler. Mum never believed me or my brother, who told us of a dark shadow towering over his bed as well as a boy trying to play with him.

When I was at school, I would have been maybe 6, a friend took me around the back of the school where we were not supposed to be. He said to me "look...can you see that?" It was a green man in the distance digging with a pick axe. This happened twice.

Around the same time my brother and I were at our Grandma's and I thought I heard her in the kitchen making breakfast it was the middle of the night. I went down stairs and saw a tall dark shadow in the lounge I ran back upstairs to bed.

One night when I was about 8 years old I went downstairs to get a drink. I saw a dark figure in the kitchen...it came close to the stairs and looked at me, then walked through a wall which led outside. It never walked through a wall previously so I had an idea it was gone. I screamed "Mum" but there was no sound. I ran back upstairs and went straight to sleep or passed out.

I knew what I had seen was bad but at 8 I was uninformed about the existence of ghosts and evil spirits. We were not very religious however, Mum did work for the Church of England and my brother and I had been baptized. I'm scared of a return. Help me understand what I saw...it still frightens me. My boyfriend works nights sometimes and I sleep downstairs. This probably makes no difference to evil...if it's coming, its coming. I hope writing this has not fed the nasty creep. This is the first time I have written the story and it has been very cathartic more so than telling it to friends. - Anonymous

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Another paranormal experience at Gettysburg

Recently we spent the weekend in Gettysburg. This time we spent more time on being “tourists” but still managed to hit some of our favorite spots. Little Round Top and Devils Den at 6am Saturday morning for example. No one, or shall I say very few people tend to venture out that early so makes for some very quiet sessions other than mother nature.

This article is about a couple personal experiences there that I have shared with Angie and others in our group who dared brave the early mornings and late nights in Gettysburg National Battlefield Park. There isn’t any “proof” I can roll out from audio, video or pictures about our experiences there but it is these experiences that are the backbone of why we go back year after year.

Our first personal experience there has happened several times over the years. Every time for us has been during those early morning excursions where we have been on Little Round Top overlooking Devils Den. This time, there was about 6 or so of us spread out across the top, Angie and I were finishing up an EVP session well off to the left away from everyone and as we started back we heard a boom.

Not an earth rattling sound but it did have a concussion to it, more like a “boom-boom” sound. It was the unmistaken sound of a cannon. We didn’t think much of it being the many reenactments that go on there daily. We met with the others and found out that everyone heard the cannon and some on the other side of us heard “cracking” sounds like a rifle firing.

Intrigued now we set out to find a park ranger and happen upon one towards one of the entrances. When we asked about possible reenactment firing cannons we were told no one can fire in the park before 10am. He asked us why and we told him where we were, he just smiled and walked away.

In our most recent visit in May we again had a personal experience at another spot we like to go to. It was around 10pm and we were at Sachs Bridge. We were walking up and down the bridge, no one on the bridge except Angie, Jeremy and I. We stopped to do an EVP session about halfway across. Angie asked whose shadow was that behind Jeremy when it just disappeared. There were 6 of us there total and everyone else was accounted for standing at the start of the bridge.

As we started to finish our way across the bridge, I saw a shadow of a person that seemed to lean against the end of the bridge and when I started to slowly walk towards it and tell everyone to look, it too disappeared. We did get hits on the Mel Meter intermittently throughout the time we were there as well.

Could I ever “prove” these experiences to anyone, no but I will not forget them. Between the Mel going off (audio as of this writing still has to be listened too) and both of us seeing shadows in the opposite direction from where we knew people were standing, it was an amazing experience. - ghosteyes.com

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Researcher: 'Satanism isn’t for devil worshippers'

What is the driving force behind Satanism?

“Could it be Satan?” Saturday Night Live’s Church Lady character, played by Dana Carvey, may once have suggested.

Turns out, true Satanism — originating from things such as the Church of Satan and the Satanic Bible, both creations of the late Anton Szandor LaVey — has little to do with Satan or the devil beyond the imagery, according to research from a graduate student in the department of religion at Montreal’s Concordia University.

In fact, rather than worshipping the spiritual entity cast by some religions as God’s arch-enemy, Satanists don’t believe in any spiritual reality or life after death, says Cimminnee Holt, who began looking into the subject as an undergrad five years ago.

“I didn’t expect them to be an atheistic-based religion,” says Holt. “They self-identify as religious and atheistic.”

Asked how this is possible, Holt says: “For Satanists, they would explain it as, ‘Well, we have a ritual component. We have a dogmatic component, and we do understand that this is an important part of our lives. We just simply reject the spiritual aspect of it.’”

She adds: “They see the architect of Satan as a metaphor, as a symbol for how they see themselves, but they reject any notion of any kind of spiritual entity — God or devil.”

Holt recently had a research paper called Death and Dying in the Satanic Worldview published in the Journal of Religion and Culture. In it, she outlines how the religion does not focus on possibilities such as heaven or hell as incentives for how to live one’s Earth-based life. Rather, because they believe there is nothing else beyond, Satanists say one’s current life should be what matters.

“If you know that there is no afterlife and you only have one life, you should be actively engaged in creating the life that you want, that serves you best and your family best,” Holt says.

Rev. Bruce Gregersen, general council officer of mission and ministry for the United Church of Canada, says it’s difficult to comment on such a “secretive” religion as Satanism.

But he does say: “We do not support, in any way, taking lightly the nature of evil or, therefore, of Satan.”

One Canadian Satanist who’s been in the news recently is Scott Robb, who unsuccessfully ran for a seat on Edmonton’s city council last October. He was a member of the Church of Satan before starting his own church, the Darkside Collective, about 10 years ago.

Asked what being a Satanist is all about, Robb says in a email: “The simplest answer is that we stand for living life to the fullest and bettering ourselves through enlightenment without creating self-guilt by begging a ‘god’ to do for us (what) we really should be doing for ourselves.”

He says being described as atheistic is a “crude way of describing us. ‘Atheist’ implies one does not believe in a deity. Satanists are more accurately described as ‘antitheists’ because we generally believe that believing in a deity is detrimental to living a truly fulfilling life; you can’t live life to the fullest if you’re begging a god to control your life.”

As for why this religion adopts as its symbol an entity seen by many as the source of all evil, Holt says choosing such window dressing acts as both a “filter and magnet” for potential followers.

“They have often said that if the imagery doesn’t appeal to you, than Satanism isn’t for you,” she says.

Robb says: “Anyone offended by our imagery is not enlightened enough to reach the higher level of human evolution.”

Characteristics of Satan that appeal to followers of the church, Holt says, include the idea that he is an adversary to other religions. As well, she adds that Satanists see merit in so-called sins such a greed and lust.

“Greed allows you to be successful in life,” she says. “If you want nice things, you have to work for them and you have to get money. If you’re a lustful person, and it’s one of the joys of life, then — with consent, certainly always with consent — if you desire, you should be pursuing.”

So, if Satanists don’t actually believe in Satan, what do they believe in? Well, for one, they believe in the empowerment and responsibility of people as individuals, Holt says.

“That means that you are the prime person responsible for actions in your life. You can’t blame the universe, God or devil for things that happen to you.”

Despite there being no fear of damnation in the afterlife, the Church of Satan requires its members to adhere strictly to the laws of the land they live in, Holt says. That means no human sacrifices or ritualistic abuse, as some have accused Satanists of being involved in.

“They completely reject the idea of animal or human sacrifice, and they also are very firm about adhering to the law,” Holt says.

Devil worshippers or not, the Church of Satan presents itself as something less than warm and fuzzy on its website. Among the Nine Satanic Statements listed there is: “Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek.”

As well, it urges “kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on ingrates.”

“Satanists do have compassion, but do not automatically extend compassion to all of humanity,” says Holt. “Their stance is to be courteous, polite and professional, but true compassion is reserved for those that the individual Satanist sees fit — family, friends.”

Robb says: “We definitely support charities and show great compassion; we are simply more picky about them.”

He says causes that protect children and animals, as well as those that advance medical research, are among the favourites of his religion.

“Most medical-related charities are supported by Satanists as it is a science that will help our species survive,” he says.

Despite valuing revenge, Holt says Satanists do not condone action that goes as far as breaking the law.

“Revenge is not vigilantism,” Holt says. “For example, if someone is trying to sabotage your career, your best revenge is to perform better than them, and get ahead by being a true professional. . . . Revenge can also be as simple as ignoring someone who is trying to create unnecessary drama.”

Holt says it’s unclear whether membership in the Church of Satan, or other satanic organizations, is growing, as such groups tend not to disclose their membership numbers. However, she says it’s likely that the advent of the Internet has made it easier for people to connect to the religion. - canada.com

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New Cases - Spirit Rescue International

Diabolical Inhabitant - Flushing, New York

A family living in a NYC apartment are coexisting with a malevolent occupant that has been a destabilizing force for several years. But lately, the circumstances have evolved into desperation and terror.

Tormenting Entity - Leeds, West Yorkshire

The client has experienced unexplainable discomfort, maladies and constant mood swings over the past 7 years...to the point where they are positive that a negative energy is responsible.

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THIS WEEK'S SPIRITUAL / PARANORMAL ACTIVITY LINKS

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Brain Structure Changes After Meditation

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My broken leg healed in half the time… all because I meditated

House torments child with whispers of violence

Spooky experiences reported at Galion's Brownella Cottage

Scariest Places In The Philippines

How To Deal With The Side Effects Of Psychic Energy

Story of the Gay Ghost

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