For the last few months, the blog has been silent. And not because I don’t have anything to say, but because I’ve been in deep contemplation. You see, I’m going through a dark night of the soul – a time that most spiritual seekers go through at least once in their lives where one’s spirituality… Read More Dark Night of the Soul: The Purpose of Suffering(?), Part I
The perils of haunted home ownership have been a part of the modern public consciousness at least since the film industry began using ancient haunted mansions as set pieces in their early films. Some films, such as Amityville Horror, Poltergeist, and more recently The Conjuring depicted the terrifying prospects of buying a haunted home unaware. Typically, the films begin… Read More Haunted Real Estate is a Growing Niche Market
The other day I listened to a TED talk called ‘Why There is No Way Back for Religion in the West’ which discussed the implications of a recent study showing the massive decline of religion in the western world. I’ll admit that I would have formally received this news with smug approval, but as I’ve… Read More Spiritual and Religious Apathy: Consequences for Life and the Afterlife
*Song by Sufjan Stevens performed and orchestrated by Lauren Eve. Please visit her channel here.* How the hell did we get here? October has disappeared in a blur of anxiety and stress. A half-dozen blog posts I halfheartedly cobbled together lay unfinished in my drafts. I, like most Americans, have been rattled to the core by… Read More America’s Identity Crisis: Seeking Wisdom from the Spirit World
It’s October! There’s a beautiful sense of withdrawing as the nights become longer and the trees give up their green for gold. For thousands of years, this was celebrated as the time when the veil between the worlds was thinnest and communication with the dead was possible. We continue this tradition through the modern holiday of Halloween and with it, all that represents our dark affection for all things paranormal. Unfortunately, October is also the month that paranormal and ghost hunting shows are at their zenith, and a new crop of so-called ‘ghost hunters’ appear each year, parroting the awful techniques they see on television. For some, ghosts are something to be exploited for thrills and YouTube hits. Well, I think its time I finally put my two cents in about it.… Read More Ghost Hunting For Thrills is Tactless And Cruel
I apologize for the provocative title, but reincarnation is a subject that many in the spiritual and new-age community feel is too obvious to bother with. The mechanics seem rather simple. You live one lifetime, die, go to the spirit world, hang around a bit, then choose another lifetime that will challenge you in new ways. … Read More Think You Understand Reincarnation? Think Again.
I intended on a different, more scholarly post today but unfortunately I must instead subject you to a rant. Below is one of many misleading media articles about near-death experiences that lead readers to assume that science has somehow ‘proven’ the mechanism for these superconscious experiences before and during clinical death. I would normally ignore articles like this,… Read More Media Continues to Spread Misleading Information about Near-Death Experiences
Warning: Rant ahead. Jannecke Oinaes (that’s her in the picture above) is a spiritual researcher from Norway who has been interviewing many of the new and popular new age authors, mediums and spiritualists and posting these interviews to youtube. Her website is Wisdom From North, and she posts on youtube under the same channel name. I find… Read More Is it Unfair to Ask a Medium for Validation? Channeling Erik Medium Annoyed by Request for Evidence of Abilities
The James Randi Million Dollar Challenge for proof of psychic phenomena has been terminated. The JREF page indicates that it is no longer accepting applications from the general public (celebrity psychics still welcome with TV crew). The foundation is going to be converted into a grant-making fund, however a review of the protocols will be… Read More The James Randi 1 Million Dollar Challenge Finally Terminated
A recent San Diego State University poll led by psychology professor Jean Twenge shows that Americans are five times less likely to pray as compared to the early 1980’s, and twice as many said they do not believe in God. The biggest decline is among 18-29 year olds, the so-called millennials. The study also shows that despite… Read More SDSU Study: Religion Down, Afterlife Belief Up Among Millennials; Reason? Feeling “Entitled” to get “Something for Nothing”
The Search For Life After Death 