Originally posted by telerionI could be mistaken about it being on A&E...it was years ago......check out this site and tell me what you think:
By the way I've been searching for an A&E episode that talks about ouija, but I can't find it. I've tried their site as well as a general google search. Do you remember anything about the program, like a name?
I did find a program on Discovery Channel entitled "Top Ten Ways to Communicate with the Dead." It's obviously a program intended to be b ...[text shortened]... was not intended to be a skeptical scientific investigation into the efficacy of the practices.
http://paranormal.about.com/cs/ouijaboards/f/blfaq_ouija01.htm
There are parts: explanation of how the oija possibly works and a question on the dangers of using the oija board prersented by paranormal investigators
Originally posted by chancremechanicThanks for the great site.
I could be mistaken about it being on A&E...it was years ago......check out this site and tell me what you think:
http://paranormal.about.com/cs/ouijaboards/f/blfaq_ouija01.htm
There are parts: explanation of how the oija possibly works and a question on the dangers of using the oija board prersented by paranormal investigators
"Most often the spirits whom are contacted through the Ouija are those whom reside on 'the lower astral plane.' These spirits are often very confused and may have died a violent or sudden death; murder, suicide, etc. Therefore, many violent, negative and potentially dangerous conditions are present to those using the board."
I've heard this from a number of sources. There seems to be something wrong with the energy of Ouija Boards. Often times it's the evil spirits that are contacted. I haven't heard a good explanation for this. Any ideas?
yeah, this is what i say about we-gee boards. they don't work. period. unbelievable that anyone could believe in such stuff. it's a kids game sold in toy stores for crying out loud. have a nice day. and please don't send me a thread to some link that tells me how some wack head paranormal guy has studied the weee geee board and all his documented evidence on how a board can contact spirits or dead people.
I'd like to see this forum continue, for as long as the missionaries are worried about the devil using ouija boards and Harry Potter, they won't have time to worry what I'm teaching their kids.
However, the ouija board's operation is a simple application of ideomotor principles--subconscious motor control. I've performed a simple experiment with a pendulum dozens of times to illustrate these principles. I can hold a pendulum in my fingers, rest my elbow on a table, and direct the movements of the pendulum with my thoughts--no visible or conscious arm movements.
It is science folks, not witchcraft.
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Originally posted by Bosse de Nagenope
Say more about the pendulum--are you likely to hear answers that you want to hear, or is it a way of ascertaining the truth about something (eg. the location of a lost object)?
It swings three ways: in a straight line, a second line 90% from the first, and in a circle. Each is the product of certain thoughts.
Now, if I drew an alphabet or words like yes and no under the swinging pendulum, and then asked it about certain locations for certain lost objects, it could tell me what I already know, but may not believe. Thus, it could function as an ouija board.
I prefer the eight-ball that is readily available in novelty stores when I have difficult decisions, such as 1.e4 or 1.d4. or 1.f4 or 1.c4 or 1.Nf3 (most of the remaining 15 possibilities I can reject instantly).
Originally posted by WulebgrOK, so if you have no conscious memory of where you put something, you can jog your memory with the pendulum?
Now, if I drew an alphabet or words like yes and no under the swinging pendulum, and then asked it about certain locations for certain lost objects, it could tell me what I already know, but may not believe. Thus, it could function as an ouija board.
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Originally posted by chancremechanicChecking out that site. I found this part of the first paragraph revealing.
I could be mistaken about it being on A&E...it was years ago......check out this site and tell me what you think:
http://paranormal.about.com/cs/ouijaboards/f/blfaq_ouija01.htm
There are parts: explanation of how the oija possibly works and a question on the dangers of using the oija board prersented by paranormal investigators
" Often times several spirits will attempt to come through at the same time but the real danger lies when you ask for physical proof of their existence! You might say, 'Well, if you're really a spirit, then put out this light or move that object!' What you have just done is simple, you have 'opened a doorway' and allowed them to enter into the physical world and future problems can and often do arise." "
emphasis mine
I think this section undoes any credibility the site could have. Essentially, the author is asking us not to question. Questioning can lead to terrible consequences!! Such threats are commonplace in a lot of mysticisms, superstitions, and religions; and should be a signal to the rational thinker that something is very fishy.
"But what if the Ouija really does not contact spirits? What if it only accesses our own subconscious? The advice might be the same. Since there are realativly few accounts of positive, uplifting experiences with the Ouija, and many negative ones, we might assume that it more attuned to the negative aspects of our subconscious."
Now this is interesting. It's certainly more grounded in our knowledge. Now this may be true, but I have a couple of criticisms. First, I think there is a selection bias in reporting. People don't build websites and retailers of the xian ministry do not make videos or give seminars about all the positive experiences. So you played with an ouija board and it was fun but nothing happened. Who cares? Nobody. So these events go unrecorded. Only the negative claims are observed. It may be that negative subconscious experiences are very uncommon in the population, but that this selection bias causes the sample to grossly misrepresent reality.
Second, I suspect that there is what we economists (and surely other scientists) call "multiple equilibria." Basically, it says that with some markets/systems/activites if you believe something will happen, than your belief will be confirmed. I think people who have these negative experiences (getting away from the really wild stories) were expecting to experience these things. This is what happens when a medium gives a cold-reading on a talkshow. He/She gets the audience to believe that he/she is speaking with the dead because the people wants to believe. This allows the clever medium to use the audience to reveal information that allows him/her to make up a story. The medium asks very general leading questions and the gullible audience gives more information to the medium. The medium uses that to spin some more. What eventually happens is the audience member tells the story and the medium just finishes with "your uncle (whoever) wants you to know that he is OK and you should be at peace." Just what the person wanted to hear in the first place!
I think it's interesting that you are so superstitious. I understand that you subscribe to the theology that demons are all over the place oppressing and possessing people. I wonder do you believe that astrology, voodoo, and magic work? That's a serious question. Are these all true powers from Satan?
Originally posted by Bosse de NageLet's assume that I lost my wallet, and that I think that I dropped it on the ground in front of the drive-up bistro where I was lusting after the barista (Man, she is hot!!). I could use the pendulum to ask myself whether I left it there. If it swings in a circle, I don't know. If it moves back and forth, the answer is either yes or no.
OK, so if you have no conscious memory of where you put something, you can jog your memory with the pendulum?
I must have enough conscious memory to pose the question, the pendulum may help confirm my conscious suspicions with my subconscious knowledge. Uncertainty might give way to certainty, but no new information can be provided by the pendulum. For example, it cannot tell me whether the barista reciprocates my lust.
Originally posted by WulebgrIn this connection, check out this paper by Daniel Wegner at Harvard. When you are mentally busy, the pendulum swings in the way *opposite* to the one you intend.
nope
It swings three ways: in a straight line, a second line 90% from the first, and in a circle. Each is the product of certain thoughts.
Now, if I drew an alphabet or words like yes and no under the swinging pendulum, and then asked it about certain locations for certain lost objects, it could tell me what I already know, but may not believe. Thus, i ...[text shortened]... 1.d4. or 1.f4 or 1.c4 or 1.Nf3 (most of the remaining 15 possibilities I can reject instantly).
This might explain why a Ouija glass moves towards unwanted, scary words.
http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~wegner/pdfs/Wegner,Ansfield,&Pilloff%201998.pdf
Originally posted by PawnokeyholeSo, a ouija board could be used as an analytical tool of sorts?
In this connection, check out this paper by Daniel Wegner at Harvard. When you are mentally busy, the pendulum swings in the way *opposite* to the one you intend.
This might explain why a Ouija glass moves towards unwanted, scary words.
http://www.wjh.harvard.edu/~wegner/pdfs/Wegner,Ansfield,&Pilloff%201998.pdf
Originally posted by WulebgrMaybe if the barista was a swinger too....
Let's assume that I lost my wallet, and that I think that I dropped it on the ground in front of the drive-up bistro where I was lusting after the barista (Man, she is hot!!). I could use the pendulum to ask myself whether I left it there. If it swings in a circle, I don't know. If it moves back and forth, the answer is either yes or no.
I must have eno ...[text shortened]... ovided by the pendulum. For example, it cannot tell me whether the barista reciprocates my lust.
Originally posted by big bernThank you for your well-written, educated opinion. We won't bother you by sending you a link that might just open your mind. In the meantime, don't send us your stupid remarks. By the way, baseball bats, that do work, are sold in the toy section of most dept. stores; how many people have had their heads bashed in by one of these "kid's toys"? Thank you....🙄
yeah, this is what i say about we-gee boards. they don't work. period. unbelievable that anyone could believe in such stuff. it's a kids game sold in toy stores for crying out loud. have a nice day. and please don't send me a thread to some link that tells me how some wack head paranormal guy has studied the weee geee board and all his documented evidence on how a board can contact spirits or dead people.