Tom Butler – Page 6

Mommy

07/ 202009/ 2016 by Joanne O’Neill

Published in the Summer 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal
©Joanne O’neill – All Rights Reserved

Over the three-and-one-half years since our son Nicky passed, we have had sittings with many wonderful and talented mediums. Just like finding a doctor, you need to feel comfortable with the person who is facilitating communication with your loved one. You need to have faith and to be open to any and all messages. Our experiences have been both fruitful and very comforting.

One such sitting was with Maureen Hancock. Maureen is from Bridgewater, Massachusetts. My sister Julie got her name from a friend. From the very first meeting, Maureen seemed to really connect with Nick. But it was my fourth session with her that resulted in a connection that no one expected. On my way to the session, I stopped at CVS and bought a tape to record the session. I also brought my own tape recorder this time, because at the previous session, Maureen had a microcassette recorder and I wanted regular-sized tapes.

The session opened with the usual strong messages from Nick, commenting about things that were happening and giving his input and opinions, and also letting me know what he’d been doing. Then, Maureen asked me if I had heard Nick’s voice. I responded that I thought I had. Then she said, “Well, he’s telling me that you will hear him soon and it will be unmistakable.” When the session ended, I left uplifted with a knowing that my son is indeed still involved with his family and friends.

When I got home, our son Chris wanted to listen to the tape. He took it into Nick’s room and closed the door. A while later, he came running out of the room very excited and asked us to listen to the tape. On the recording, right after Maureen says that I will hear Nick, was a clear and unmistakable voice saying, “Mommy.” We were stunned, elated, and wonderfully comforted all at the same time. In addition, we realized that this was another example of irrefutable proof that our loved ones not only live on, but continue to speak to us and love us.

Editor’s Note about Mommy

Originally published in Signs of Life by Forever Family Foundation as Hello Mom, A Dazzle Shot, by Joanne O’Neill

Nicholas O’Neill made his transition in The Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. At eighteen, he was the youngest victim. Nick, a songwriter, singer, musician, comedian and all around entertainer, had been invited to hang out with the Great White band the day of the show that ended in one hundred deaths. In the ensuing months and years since his crossing, his parents have been amazed by the many messages that have come from him. Many of these events center on the number forty-one, a number of great significance in Nicky’s life. Dave Kane, Nicky’s father, who is a well-known radio personality and talk-show host, has written an inspiring book about the family’s continued relationship with Nicky titled, 41 Signs of Hope, New River Press.

When we formatted this story Lisa felt compelled to send it to Margaret Downey. Margaret read the story and emailed back an EVP that she had recorded on January 3, 2006 that says “Jo’s Nick’s mommy.” When Margaret experimented that night, she called on Nick and got another EVP saying, “Mom, it’s Nicky.” We immediately put Margaret in touch with Dave and Joanne and Nick has given Margaret even more messages to share with his parents. Some of them are “Nick O’Neill is talking.” “Mom and Dad, this is Nicky” and “Nick O’Neill … hey Margaret.”

Formation of EVP

08/ 202309/ 2009 by Tom Butler

Further Reading: Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives

Abstract

Trans-etheric influences are seen to require physical processes to propagate in the physical. In practical terms, this means that such influences can be classified by the physical processes they require, and how they are seen to manifest. While actual physical principles employed in the formation of EVP have yet to be empirically determined, many elements of hypotheses proposing categorization and expected behaviors have been proposed and tested. From this knowledge base comes a clearer understanding of what is and is not EVP.

Introduction

Historically, Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) have been thought of as unexpected voices found in recording media. The primary technique for recording EVP has been with an audio recorder and the voice is thought to be formed of available audio energy (background noise).

Recent developments have made it practical to work with real-time, two-way EVP. With this development, an expanded definition is required. As one has not gained wide acceptance, the following should be considered a draft definition:

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) are anomalous, intelligible speech produced in electronic devices. They may be heard as a real-time output but are more generally heard on review of a subsequent recording. No currently understood physical processes account for the existence of EVP.

EVP Formation

EVP can be collected under circumstances which preclude the possibility of such mundane sources as radio frequency contamination, unnoticed background conversations, contamination from previously recorded speech and mundane sounds mistaken as voice. People around the world have demonstrated this fact since before Friedrich Jürgenson made his famous EVP recordings fifty years ago June 12, 1959. The important point is that much is known about ordinary EVP formation which allows practitioners to recognize what is and is not phenomenal.

Transform EVP

As shown in Figure 1, the phenomenal utterance is formed in the recording device. Current theory is that noise is used for voice formation and the dominant physical process is thought to be the amplification of a weak telekinetic signal by the action of stochastic resonance on the broad-spectrum audio-frequency noise. The “frequencies” available in the sound stream at any moment will determine the richness of the resulting voice and no new audio energy is produced.

There is no evidence that the psi processes involved in trans-etheric communication produce additional physical processes. Once the information is in the physical, it is completely subject to physical principles. Keep in mind that stochastic resonance was not documented as a process prior to 1981. The fact that a physical process needed to explain some aspect of EVP has not yet been defined does not mean that a paranormal solution must be used. It is important to this essay to note that the preponderance of evidence indicates the requirement of physical processes. There is no need to say that a phenomenal event somehow occurs or is caused by divine intervention.

The characteristics associated with traditionally formed (transform) EVP that are part of the theoretical model used by the ATransC include:

EVP are not acoustical phenomena, meaning that they are formed in the recording mechanism, and can be collected with an acoustically isolated recorder.
The voice is formed by transforming audio-frequency energy available in an electronic circuit into an approximation of human speech.
EVP are energy limited, meaning that their formation is in short packets of a few words so that shorter packets tend to have greater volume, longer packets tend to have less volume and very long utterances are seen as several concatenated packets with brief pauses between each one.
Any audio-frequency energy is apt to be transformed into voice as EVP.
EVP formation occurs in analog circuits, and once digitized, tends to be stable.
The utterances are formed by selecting available audio-frequency energy. Audio-frequency energy is not created for this purpose by the etheric communicator and may be in the form of relatively random noise, fragments of voice or synthesized voice.

Because of the many years of study by practitioners around the world, much is known about EVP recorded by traditional means. Small details of the characteristics listed here may be arguable but there is little doubt that this form of EVP occurs in audio recorders in a predictable way.

EVP formed by random selection

ccaaevp2009-evpmaker Stefan Bion has developed a computer program named EVPmaker which has been shown to produce EVP based on random selection of segments of a sound file. The input audio file may be recorded “live voice” but the program is able to use synthesized human voice fragments known as allophones and/or the smaller phonemes.

Precedence for psi influence of random processes has been established by the parapsychological community. For instance, the Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research (PEAR) Lab reported a small but significant effect in psi studies. Depending on presets made by the practitioner, the randomly selected segments of input file are typically too short to contain recognizable speech, especially when using synthesized speech. Once selected by the random process, the segments of sound are combined with others to produce the desired words. As such, EVP formation is thought to be controlled by control of the random process.

Audio output for EVPmaker is a staccato sound as if the system has developed a severe stutter. Recorded speech is considered “live voice” and is inherently suspect as a sound source for EVP formation; however, when using synthesized voice fragments, the input file can be controlled to minimize pre-existing recognizable words. As such, words in the output should be clearly random or they are phenomenal.

EVP formed by speech synthesis

ccaaevp2009-speech_synth_evp A recent development in the study of EVP is the introduction of speech synthesis technology. Bill Chappell has shown that it may be possible to produce meaningful utterances by detecting changes in the environment to control a speech synthesis process. The working assumption is that the communicating entity will change the environment to cause synthesis of the intended words. More research is needed, but the implication is that detection of presumably easily influenced chaotic processes such as room temperature and electrical charge can be used to initiate EVP formation by controlling a speech synthesis process. A second possibility is that the communicating entity is able to directly influence the speech synthesis circuit; however, more research must be conducted to determine this.

Chappell’s Paranormal Puck is programmed with words (speech mode), and a library of English-language phonemes (phoneme mode). Phonemes are the smallest segment of human speech, and when appropriately combined in an audio file, will produce meaningful speech.

An important point to consider in the analysis of environmentally controlled speech synthesis for EVP formation is that the only physical process necessary to explain observed results is a change in ambient energy detected by the device. The library of words or speech fragments is present in the designed capabilities of the technology.

Physical processes in EVP formation

Substantial research and field observation have shown that the processes involved in trans-etheric phenomena are probably knowable. Physical processes such as propagation of sound or light are measurable and their understanding can be applied to devices and other processes. In the same way, the processes governing subtle energy and the behavior of personalities after transition are knowable and able to be applied in technological solutions. A few of the assumptions used in this study of how EVP are formed are:

EVP are formed via the influence of subtle energy (as intention) on physical processes according to knowable principles. With this assumption, the explanation for a phenomenal event that it “somehow” occurred cannot be used for research. The “somehow” should be quickly replaced by an established or modified theory. See: Physical Processes Involved in Trans-etheric Influences
There is consistency in how subtle energy influences are able to affect physical processes. For instance, both visual forms such as images found in video feedback noise and EVP formed from background noise appear to depend on something like stochastic resonance. See: The Energy Profile of Transform EVP
The influence of physical processes by subtle energy is energy limited and the most energy-efficient processes should be considered first. This also means the physical energy required for phenomena can be accounted for. See: The Energy Profile of Transform EVP
Available physical processes can be initiated by an etheric influence to cause observable phenomena, but matter and energy are not seen to be created. An important implication of this assumption is that physical energy and objects may be transformed but they are not created to form phenomena. For instance, if sound is not present, it cannot be transformed into the words of EVP. The required sound will not be created but a physical process may be initiated which in turn causes sound for voice formation.

The observed characteristics of EVP suggest how they are (typically) formed, and by extension, how they (usually) are not formed. The average person can use this information to evaluate examples to help determine if they are mundane or paranormal. It also means that a deviation to the typical method of formation should be considered rare and the example should be held in reserve by practitioner and researchers alike until more data is available.

[Editor: In the proposed Energy Profile of Transform EVP study, it is speculated that stochastic amplification is the physical process involved in transform phenomena. That process depends on available physical energy–light or sound. Morphic fields are proposed as a possible etheric-physical process for the expression of intended order. The most speculative proposal, but one clearly supported in the above list, is that wave forms or images that already exist in the physical are apported into the transform process. The study associated with “The Energy Profile of Transform EVP” is intended to help quantify possible changes in energy profile for transform EVP formation. If one exists, it would tend to reinforce the apportation hypothesis.]

Sounds mistaken as EVP

Understanding common ways that ordinary sounds are mistaken as EVP provides a way of better understanding how the phenomenal voices are formed. As a reminder, the three types of EVP described above are well-established as trans-communication and there is little doubt of their authenticity as paranormal phenomena. The ways that ordinary events might be mistaken as phenomena are provided here as a way of helping practitioners avoid common “human nature” pitfalls.

Hearing what is expected

EVP practitioners listen very closely to sound files in an attempt to find meaningful sounds. This is because the audio signal normally thought of as just background noise is considered a likely place to find a paranormal message. However, audio files thought to be needed for voice formation are usually very noisy and meaning is potentially everywhere. It is common for a distant but ordinary conversation to be detected by a recorder and then be reported as phenomenal. When a practitioner is expecting a meaningful sound, the next sound is sometimes given that meaning no matter what intelligence the sound actually carries.

Typical sources of sound mistaken as EVP include:

Ordinary variations in background sound mistaken as voice: For instance, a burst of static is sometimes heard as an angry voice.
Stray radio signals mistaken as EVP: Hand-held, battery-powered recorders are excellent antenna for radio reception and the electronics are capable of making stray AM signals understandable.
“Morphed” foreign-language sound source: Naturally occurring foreign-language words are sometimes reported as having been “morphed” into EVP but then are recognized by a person who speaks the foreign language as not being EVP at all.
Reversing a soundtrack: Some words sound like other words when heard in the reverse.
Ordinary sound changed with an audio editor to simulate EVP: Changing the tempo of a sound file can change its intended meaning. Since voices of EVP are usually formed out of the background noise, filtering the noise can sometimes change how the words are heard. Excessive amplification can make detected radio audible.

Ways EVP might be misreported

There is some evidence that a sound file might be altered while it is in an analog form, but sound files are thought to be stable once they have been digitized. As such, many people can hear the same digitized sound file and should hear the same sounds. If there is an anomalous utterance in the sound file, then it will be the same each time. This is an important characteristic of EVP if online listening tests are to be trusted to produce meaningful data.

With that said, it is common to see a doubtful EVP example shared on the Internet with a surprising number of people saying they hear it as the practitioner reported. In subsequent tests, it is possible that even the person who reported the example will not be able to understand the utterance. Assuming the practitioner and listeners did hear the example as reported even though the words were not actually present, what would explain the confusion?

The most common problems include:

Suggesting what should be heard: Especially when the example is of marginal quality, the listener is easily guided to hear what is expected by how the example is reported even though the words may not be present.
Fabricating a “likely story”: The practitioner has asked a question and expects the next sound to contain the answer. Whatever the next sound “sounds like” is taken as part of the answer even though it may not make logical sense. To make it sound correct, the practitioner applies meaning to subsequent sounds to tell a story that provides a plausible answer to the question.
Setting listener expectation in “real-time” dialogue: Two-way conversations via EVP are very difficult, and while shown to be possible, the process can also be misleading. It is reasonable for the practitioner to ask the entity to repeat a word by saying something like, “Did I hear you say ‘Tom?’” However, in doing so, the listener is preconditioned to hear “Tom,” even though the word may not be present.
Selectively relating utterances to questions: The usual recommendation is that the words of an EVP just before or just after the practitioner’s question can appropriately be applied to the question. As such, asking a question and selecting a word out of a string of possible utterances would be considered selective reporting.

Locating EVP Formation and Detecting False Positives

12/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom Butler

ccaaevp2008-fig7_opportunistic_evp_transform

Abstract

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) can occur in a number of different ways. Knowing how the voices are formed, or at least where in the circuit, might help researchers design more effective devices and help avoid false positives. This article is intended to explore the various methodologies used in EVP experimentation. It is not intended to select one technology or methodology over another or to discourage research in what might appear to be a less productive approach. The main intent is to understand voice formation so as to avoid mistaking and reporting mundane signals as phenomenal.

Introduction

This article is intended to frame the discussion of where EVP are formed in the technology and how to detect and avoid false positive results. It is an attempt to deal with the subject in an analytical format without making unsubstantiated comments. Based on this and similar articles, best practices will be proposed under the Practices Tab of ATransC.org..

Transform EVP

The most common technique for EVP experimentation is the use of an audio recorder, and if necessary, a background sound source. Transform EVP are not an acoustical phenomenon, and so are not heard at the input of the electronic device. In some recorders, it is possible to listen to the signal as it is saved to memory; however, there are problems with experimenter comprehension that usually makes this “real time” approach impractical.

There is a substantial body of evidence based on well-designed research, and years of anecdotal reports, indicating that this form of EVP is the result of a transformation, within an electronic device, of available audio-frequency energy into a simulation of human speech. (1) This research has produced a list of characteristics for EVP that can be considered a “litmus test” that provides a means of avoiding mundane sound being mistaken as phenomena. (2) (See: Characteristic test for EVP) The current working hypothesis for how the voice is actually formed maintains that a small signal “message” is amplified via the action of stochastic resonance on the audio signal caused by background noise. (3)

Sources for a “Message” in Transform EVP

The EVP recording technique of using an audio recorder, and if necessary, supplying audio-frequency noise will be referred to here as the “basic recorder technique.” This technique is intended to produce transform EVP, but there are two other possible results. Figure 1 shows the intended mode, in which the EVP communicator somehow injects an utterance into the electronic device. The utterance exists in the output and the experimenter hears what is said.

A second result that can be encountered is illustrated in Figure 2. The experimenter mistakes mundane sounds in the recording as being paranormal utterances. This is the common human response referred to as “pareidolia” (4) by the skeptical community.

A third result is the accidental recording of unnoticed voices, for instance, someone speaking in the next room. When the recording is played back, the mundane voices are mistaken as EVP. This is illustrated in Figure 3.

A fourth result is more of a possible characteristic than a different result, but it is listed here because of the apparent origin of a new utterance. This is illustrated in Figure 4. An EVP is recorded in the usual manner and is stored in either digital or analog media. When it is played at a later time, the utterance thought to have been recorded is apparently replaced with another or transfigured to say something else. Reports of this were more common when analog and magnetic tape was the storage media. It has also been reported that, once digitized, the EVP remains unchanged whether it is stored in magnetic media or transistor devices.

Figure 4 is representative of a block diagram for any recording device, in that there is an analog input stage which has an output that is the input to a storage mechanism. If the recording is to be heard by human ears, recovery from the storage mechanism is via a second or “output” analog stage. EVP is thought to be formed in analog processes, as (I believe) stochastic resonance does not work in digitized signals. Also the energy well for nonlinear digitized signals is considerably greater than for linear analog and should require considerably more energy to influence. (This is conjecture.)

If the recording is transferred to a computer by connecting the earphone jack of the recorder to the line in jack of the computer, even if it was initially stored in a digital format, it is converted into analog and passes through two analog stages before being digitized for storage in the computer. If the recording is transferred via an all-digital format, say with a USB cable, then it remains digital until it is converted to analog for playback. Thus using a USB interface eliminates two analog stages, and therefore should offer less opportunity for etheric influence.

Close examination of “changed EVP” has shown that there is a likelihood that the utterance only seems to be changed. Class C and many Class B examples can seem to change when the experimenter leaves the recording for a time and then returns to it with a different perspective.

Assuming that EVP does not occur in digital format, each playback will begin with the same sound file once it has been digitized. If the output seems to be different, then it must be different in the same way on each playback. If the recording is stored in magnetic media in an analog format, there is less certainty that the recording cannot be changed in the magnetic media.

The problem of changed utterances is one that is not commonly reported, but such reports should be carefully documented as to the technical circumstances. Analysis of such reports may offer insights as to how EVP are formed.

Transform EVP Summary

Four possible results of using the basic recorder technique are that an EVP will be formed out of available noise (Figure 1), the experimenter might mistake mundane sound as EVP (Figure 2), unnoticed conversations in the recording environment might be mistaken as EVP (Figure 3) and an existing recording might be changed in storage or on output (Figure 4). All of the transform EVP techniques we are aware of are based on voice formation out of available audio-frequency energy, within an electronic circuit. Variations of this theme only represent novel ways to condition the audio-frequency noise used for voice formation.

Opportunistic EVP

This category of EVP is relatively new and much less understood as compared to transform EVP. Opportunistic EVP devices usually have additional electronic stages which are different than what is found in the basic recorder technique using just an audio recorder and sound source. It therefore has additional ways in which an EVP might be formed. There are many variations on the theme represented by Radio-sweep technology, popularly known as “ghost boxes” or “spirit boxes” and EVPmaker.

As is illustrated in Figure 5, radio-sweep involves rapidly scanning available Amplitude Modulation (AM) radio stations to create a single stream of sound fragments. The sound fragments are then used as an input to a recording device. In some applications, a speaker is also attached to the output of the sweep stage in an attempt to achieve real-time communication. Although it is possible to simply turn the tuner on a radio with a recorder microphone nearby, there are a number of “boxes” designed by inventors, such as the MiniBox (5) and Frank’s Box. (6) From our observations, these are all variations of essentially the same theme with different mechanizing techniques.

The software program, EVPmaker (7) developed by Stefan Bion, is also opportunistic in that a single stream of conversation is chopped into small bits and then reassembled into a second stream of sound made by concatenating bits based on a random number process. Bion’s research has shown that message formation is caused by manipulation of the random number process.

These techniques are called “Opportunistic EVP” because it appears that the EVP is formed by selecting available sound bits to form a word or sound that closely matches the intended utterance. This is different from changing sound to match the required output.

Figure 6 illustrates what is being referred to as Mistaken, Opportunistic EVP. As in transform EVP, mistaken EVP in radio-sweep and EVPmaker result from the assigning of meaning where there is none intended. Because the resulting stream of sound bits does have voice, it is easy for the mind to assign meaning to word-like sounds, even though none was intended or a second listener might hear something very different. The meaning is not caused by a communicating entity, but is from the tendency of the mind to find meaning in otherwise random sounds.

Figure 7 illustrates how the analog stage might be used to induce a transform EVP into a radio-sweep or EVPmaker circuit. Transform EVP in this circuit will tend to be interrupted by the sound bits from the radio-sweep, causing an effect similar to an experimenter talking over an utterance in the basic recorder technique. EVPmaker is not as likely to produce a transform EVP because all of the processing is in the digital format and the output is usually the only analog stage.

Opportunistic EVP Summary

EVP may be formed in the sound stream resulting from the fragmentation of a mundane source, either pre-recorded conversation in EVPmaker or multiple radio stations in radio-sweep. The resulting sound stream might also be mistaken as EVP when there is none, but transform EVP might be formed in the device. In concept, all of the opportunistic EVP devices depend on the sound frequency, amplitude and inflection to be present in the raw source at the time it is required for voice formation.

Selective reporting of EVP

In transform EVP, the utterance typically occurs before the next question or comment. In some instances, convincing evidence has been reported suggesting that some utterances precede the question, as if anticipating it. (An alternative explanation to precognition is that the experimenter anticipates the question by mentally composing it before speaking, and that mental processing is detected and responded to.)

It would be considered a Best Practice to never associate utterances occurring before the preceding question and after the following question with the question. For instance, as is illustrated in Figure 8, Answer 2 would normally not be associated with Question 1.

Opportunistic EVP poses unique problems for question and answer associations, and the question of appropriate associations should be addressed in this article. For instance, asking a question and simply allowing the sweep to continue until a likely answer is heard does not seem to allow for the old question as to whether or not a typing monkey will eventually produce meaningful text.

Techniques for Eliminating False Positives

A “false positive” is the assignment of “EVP” status to mundane sounds. This would include imagined (Figure 2) and mistaken (Figure 3) results in transform EVP, and mistaken results (Figure 6) in opportunistic EVP. It would also include inappropriate association of questions and answers. The challenge is to find a way to experimentally establish that both categories of EVP formation actually produce EVP. Next is the task of finding a way to distinguish true EVP from mistaken and imagined results.

Transform EVP

In transform EVP, the known sources of false positives are:

Radio-frequency contamination
Unnoticed voices or voice-like sounds in the environment
Recorder artifacts
Imagination of the listener

Radio-Frequency Contamination

RF contamination is usually pretty obvious because it produces unusually long messages that are often cut-off as incomplete expressions or which are nonsensical when the circumstances of the recording is considered. Digital wireless devices such as cell phones, wireless servers, most wireless land-line phones and baby monitors using security codes will not produce an intelligible signal in RF contamination. Frequency Modulation (FM) radio will not produce intelligible contamination, as with broadcast television. The only realistic source for such contamination is AM radio.

Research has shown that EVP can be recorded even when the recorder is shielded from RF contamination, so it has been empirically shown that transform EVP are not caused in that manner. (8) (9) Nevertheless, RF contamination is a possible cause of mistaken results, and this source of false positives must be accounted for. The most effective way to avoid any of the false positives in EVP is described in the Best Practice: Characteristic Test for EVP. (2) In that practice, common characteristics of EVP which have been anecdotally identified via long-time experience within the community and empirically via controlled experiments are used as a norm for EVP. If an utterance falls outside of that norm, then it is considered suspect. It is always recommended that practitioners set aside suspect EVP until more evidence is available.

Unnoticed Voices or Voice-Like Sounds in the Environment

This is a bigger problem than might be expected. It is common for a practitioner to make a recording in the field and not review the results until after returning home. For most people, memory is not sufficient for knowing whether or not voices in recordings were from physical people speaking elsewhere in the environment.

The recommended solution for this is the use of a second recording device as a “control.” (10) Two important characteristic of EVP are that the exact same utterances is never recorded in more than one recording circuit at the same instant, and that higher quality recorders are less likely to record an EVP. As such, a simple solution is to require that field recording be done in tandem with a second, higher quality recorder such as is found in a video camera. This is a Best Practice titled: Using a Control recorder for EVP.

Recorder Artifacts and Imagined EVP

The less expensive digital voice recorders are thought to be so successful in EVP experimentation because of the noise generated within the recorder, presumably in the analog input stage. It is often unnecessary to supply background noise. At least with the earlier models, they were also subject to bursts of noise that are reminiscent of an angry man yelling a message. Further analysis has shown that the bursts of noise are simply artifacts, but that the communicating entity sometimes uses the sound to form voice. Since the sound naturally has an angry sound, the resulting EVP sounded angry.

Other artifacts include induced noise from nearby electrical devices. The induced noise has a frequency of equal to power-line frequency, two times line frequency or a harmonic of line frequency, and it can be modulated to sound like voice by moving the recorder in relationship to the source.

Protection from false positives of this kind is the characteristic test (2) and a listening panel. The intention of a listening panel is that people experienced in hearing EVP should be able to agree with what the utterance is thought to say without prompting. The EVP online listening trials report details the results of double-blind listening trials. In the trials, 25.2% of the words were correctly identified by website visitors. The examples are considered Class A that should be correctly heard 100% of the time by an experienced listener. In fact, a not exactly the same experiment was conducted for the same examples using more experienced ATransC members with estimated average correct word recognition of 74%.

Mistaken Results in Opportunistic EVP

When radio-sweep is configured with a direct connection to a recorder or recorder program, both radio-sweep and EVPmaker are closed to ambient voice, and therefore, unnoticed voices in the environment are not a consideration. However, understanding random sequences of audio bits as EVP is a problem, the extent of which is unknown. I am not aware of any empirical studies that have been conducted to establish a standard for accepting results.

In what has been “normal” experimentation by individual researchers, the question of how to avoid false positives has not been an issue except in the case of radio-sweep. This has been true because most researchers have gained a reasonable level of experience and have developed an “ear” for understanding the utterances. Today, we are seeing more and more people begin their experience with EVP by using the radio-sweep devices or EVPmaker software. The resulting lack of experience is producing false positives that are too often being accepted as genuine EVP.

On behalf of the ATransC, we recommend that all people new to trans-etheric communication learn to record for EVP using the basic recorder technique. Then, after learning how to record EVP and how to recognize false positives in that way, we encourage people to try other methods. The field has progressed, but it may be true that the basic recorder technique is not ultimately as productive as other techniques, so it is important that people try approaches such as radio-sweep. Beyond the desire that people should not believe something that is not true, we are concerned with the damage to the entire field of study that can be caused by a large population of people claiming EVP that are seen as false positives.

Testing to Identify False Positives

Currently the content of the message is the primary test for determining a false positive, but even that seems to require modification to accommodate the kind of results being reported with opportunistic EVP. For instance, it is common for the practitioner’s name to be spoken in the results while this is much less the case with transform EVP. The messages are potentially endless while an important characteristic of transform EVP is that they are relatively short. It is also difficult to distinguish which possible utterance is associated with which question put by the practitioner while transform EVP is pretty clearly a question and answer response as in normal communication.

While these differences pose a problem for avoiding false positives, they may also tell us something about how EVP are formed. For instance, if the experimenter’s name is being called out more often in opportunistic EVP, why is there a difference?

A potentially inflammatory question that needs to be addressed is why there is so much more social tension associated with opportunistic EVP than is associated with transform EVP. For some experimenters who report extraordinarily long messages, the communication has turned to predictions of doom that have not been fulfilled. EVP is as much about the person as it is about the technology, so these questions do need to be asked and answered in a candid, but analytical way.

References

Gullà, Daniele, Computer–Based Analysis of Supposed Paranormal Voice: The Question of Anomalies Detected and Speaker Identification, Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research, Bologna, Italy, atransc.org/gulla-voice-analysis/
Butler, Tom, Characteristic Test for EVP, ATransC, atransc.org/characteristic-test-for-evp/
Butler, Tom, Formation of EVP, Association TransCommunication, atransc.org/evp-formation/
Pareidolia, Wordspy, wordspy.com/index.php?word=pareidolia
Paranormal Systems, (Website missing as of 9-23-2016)
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, Frank’s Box, Paranormal Insider, Paranormal Systems, (Website missing as of 9-23-2016)
Bion, Stephan, EVPmaker, evpmaker.software.informer.com/
Weisensale, Bill, Eliminating Radio Frequency Contamination for EVP, ATransC, atransc.org/eliminating-rf-contamination/
MacRae, Alexander. “Report of an Anomalous Speech Products Experiment inside a Double Screened Room.” Journal of the Society for Psychical Research. 2009. Society for Psychical Research. sgha.net/library/MacRaeAnomalousSpeech.pdf
Best Practices, Control recorder for EVP, ATransC Collective, atransc.org/using-a-control-recorder-for-evp/

The Testimony of Marie-Hélène, Bénédicte’s Mother

Introduction

What I am going to tell you happened in Brittany on the 9^th of July 2004, when we were on holiday. It was after dinner and I had just put a piece of aluminum foil on a plate of cheese to cover it. I know … It’s very prosaic and my mind was far from any experiment but this is what happened.

As I was sitting at the table chatting with my mother and my husband—I still can’t believe it—I looked at the recently covered cheese plate and my daughter’s face was printed on that foil just in front of us. I then started to take photos of this very amazing event which seemed truly incredible to me. While I was taking the photographs with my Minolta Dimage XT, my mother became nervous and thought it was silly that I photographed a plate and asked me why I was doing it. I got up and went near her to show her my small camera screen without telling her anything. She immediately recognized the face of her granddaughter and asked me where I had got it. I told her it was on the aluminium paper; she then got up and came to where I was, sat on my chair and without me telling her the place she immediately spotted this little face. Then the same thing happened with my husband. And my husband—who is not a good observer—exclaimed: “It’s incredible; I can see Bénédicte’s face!” and he burst into tears.

I took the photos because I was afraid to see the image disappear. But the truth is that the little face remained on the same spot of the aluminium foil until the 14th of July and in the meantime I took photos with another camera, a Nikon F-401. The Nikon was less convenient to photograph the little face because it does not zoom and I wanted to show the photos to other people….

On the 14^th of July we had to return because our holidays were over and I had to hand back the plate which was not mine, it belonged to the house we were renting and so I unwrapped the aluminum foil. To this day I regret not having brought that plate with me for I think I could still have my daughter’s face imprinted on the aluminum foil! It was really silly of me not having brought the plate home. Many people, friends who saw the photos later on, had the same opinion: they could see Bénédicte’s face on them.

Marie-Hélène Bienaimé, France

Physiognomic Analysis Performed on an
Image Obtained through I. P. V. S.*

by Daniele Gullà”Interdisciplinary Laboratory for Biopsychocybernetics Research

* I.P.V.S. : Acronym devised by IL Laboratorio which stands for “Interazione Psi-Visiva di tipo Strumentale” (Psi-Visual Interaction of Instrumental type, more commonly known as ITC image).

The Case Under Investigation

The investigation consists of attempts to explore the authenticity of an alleged ITC image unexpectedly obtained when a plate covered with aluminum foil was photographed. In the photograph, the creases in the foil were apparently seen to have spontaneously taken on the visual configuration of the face of a deceased girl. The girl’s identity was immediately claimed to be recognized by her mother (who took the photograph) and by other relatives present at the time.

Description of the Case

guilla_figure_4_web — Figure 1. Image with the “extra” appeared through the deformation of the aluminum foil. The purported face to be recognized has been encircled by a yellow mark.

The anomalous photograph that is at the center of the case initially came to the attention of Dr. Anabela Cardoso, who then arranged for it to be sent to me for analysis. It was shown to Dr. Cardoso by the lady responsible for taking it and whom Dr. Cardoso and I met while attending the International Conference of Infinitude held in Paris in 2007. Having inspected the photograph, Dr. Cardoso considered it of sufficient interest to be sent to me, together with photographs taken during the lifetime of the deceased daughter whose image it appeared to be. These photographs would enable me to carry out a possible verification of any similarities in physiognomic characteristics between the alleged ITC image on the tinfoil and the images of the girl shown in the photographs taken during her lifetime.

Technical Steps in Making the Anthropometric Comparison

The ITC image and one of the lifetime pictures of Bénédicte were normalized in terms of pixels and contrast, and subsequently, metric and morphologic measurements were taken of the two images. The two images were then superimposed one on the other so that the appropriate mark points (‘repère’ points) coincided. Morphologic Test of Pattern Recognition with Neural Networks: The test of morphologic compatibility was performed with the Neural Networks program utilized by the American intelligence services (FBI) known as the Universal Image Recognition program. This morphologic test takes into consideration the whole of the cranial structure of the human head, elaborating the contours of the “structural cage” and does not focus on the distances of single repère points. Instead it analyzes in a more general way the shape of the various parts of the cranium. The test was performed using the ONE_TO_MANY mode that compares the ITC image with 3,000 other images contained in the database of the Universal Image Recognition program. This database is composed of masculine and feminine somatic types of faces, all of European origin and aged between 10 and 70 years.

The final data is the result of a miscellaneous comparison of 3,000 x 3,000 or more precisely 9,000,000 comparative tests. In the final result visible on the screen in Figure 7, seven similar images were found but only one reaches the maximum score which surpasses the threshold of FAR (False Acceptance) and FRR (False Recognition Rate), which the program sets respectively at percentage values 0, 1% and 0, 03%. This image was one of Bénédicte’s lifetime photographs. That image reached the highest score and it was therefore identified as the face most similar to the ITC image with a rate of 98.97%.


Figure 2. Detail of the supposed ITC face enlarged and rotated through approximately 30 degrees	Figure 3. Four images of Bénédicte, the deceased French girl visually recognized by her mother as the subject of the ITC image in the aluminum foil, taken during her lifetime	Figure 4. This image shows the result of the superimposition of the lifetime image of Bénédicte’s face with the presumed ITC face. The similarity of the somatic traits is clearly noticeable.

It is possible to read on the central report of the computer screen printout in Figure 7 that besides the choice of the anomalous ITC image proper (which was also added to the database of the program), which is identical to the image for which a comparison was required because it is the same image, and therefore attained the highest score of 192000000 (file denominated “Photo David et Bénédicte1r.jpg”), the second most similar image with a score of 59136000 is Bénédicte’s lifetime photograph (file denominated “Photo David et Bénédicte-2.jpg”) shown on the right side of the computer print-out. This image, which gave a percentage similarity rating of 98.7% was therefore identified as the face most similar to the ITC image (The Italian Courts of Justice accept a reading of 95% when establishing cases of human identity).


Figure 5. The same operation was then carried out using another image of Bénédicte superimposed on the ITC picture with alignment of the repère points with morphing technique. The similarity of the faces and the apparent coincidence of the points are again noticeable.	Figure 6. In this analysis the distance relationships between the repère points of the two images were measured. Although the relationships are noticeably constant, with values in the region of number 1, there are percentage value changes that indicate the presence of some spatial deformations in the tinfoil of the ITC image that prevent definitive conclusions, from the metric point of view, as to whether or not the two images share the same identity.	Figure 7. Morphologic comparison between the ITC image and 3,000 faces performed with neural networks. Bénédicte’s lifetime image was recognized as the most similar to the anomalous image with a percentage of 98.97%.

Conclusions

The technological applications used in the comparative analysis have revealed several points of similarity. The morphologic comparison done with Neural Networks on a sampling of 3,000 faces shows that a high percentage of compatibility between the ITC image and the photograph taken during the young girl’s life exists. However, it should be borne in mind that

the alleged ITC image taken by the mother under the circumstances and with the exposure value (i.e. the time the shutter remained open during the shutter click) concerned, produced a particular effect of light/shadow on the reflective surface (i.e. the aluminum foil) that does not allow us to highlight identification marks capable of allowing an evaluation sufficiently sensitive to yield total compatibility with an image taken during the subject’s lifetime. Furthermore, it should be emphasized that my analysis is limited to measurements made on optical information whose authenticity and origin cannot be accurately determined.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to achieve an accurate comparison of the metric relationship between the points because, although a very marked similarity was found, the image containing the “extra” presents spatial deformations which are obviously due to the particular conditions of the creased aluminum foil on which the image was imprinted. Consequently, it was not possible to obtain precise anthropometric data from the image. Proper measurements could only be taken from Bénédicte’s lifetime pictures. The missing instrumental confirmation of the metric methodology does not, however, diminish the probability of a definite identification, even though we have to deal with comparisons between two images that differ from each other as to the material on which they are imposed. It would have been different if we had analyzed two homogeneous photographs and had found instrumental discrepancies with one of the two methods used.

Nevertheless, the morphologic analysis (which is more representative by virtue of its analysis of the images through the simulation of human vision) and the probabilistic comparison between the ITC image and the population of 3,000 faces in the database render the hypothesis of compatibility of the two faces valid.

Translated from the Italian original by Dr. Anabela Cardoso and originally published in No. 31 of the ITC Journal which is published 3 times a year. For subscription information, see itcjournal.org

Bibliography

[1] Bertillon A., Identification anthropometrique: instruction signaletiques, Melun, Imprimerie Administrative, 1893.

[2] Goldstein A., Harmon L.D., Lesk A.B., Identification of Human faces, Proceeding of the IEEE, Vol, 59, No.5, MAY 1971.

[3] Duda R., Hart P., Stork G., Pattern classification, Wiley, New York, 2000.

[4] Watanabe S., Pattern recognition:human and mechanical, Wiley, New York, 1985.

[5] Falco G., Identità: metodo scientifico di segnalamento e identificazione, II Edizione, Roma, 1923.

[6] Martin R., Saller K., Lehrbuch der Anthropologie in systematicher Darstellung, Dd. I-II. Fischer, Stuttgard, 1956-59.

[7] Reverte-Coma G.M., Antropologia forense, Ministero de Justitia, Madrid, 1991.

[8] Schiwidwtzky I., Knussmann R., Morphognose und Typognose, in Martin R. Antropologie, Fischer, Stuttgard, 1988.

[9] Iscan M.Y., Loth S.R., Photo image identification, in Siegel J.A., Soukko J.P., Knupfer G.C., (Eds), Encyclopedia of Forensic Sciences, Academic Press, pagg 795-805, New York, 2000.

[10] Olivieri L., Antropologia e Antropometria, C.E.V. Idelson, Napoli, 1963.

[11] Farkas L. G., Anthropometry of the head and face, Second Edition, Raven Press, 2000.

[12] Parisi, R., Nozioni di antropometria, EDAS, Messina, 1979.

[13] Balossino N., Siracusa S., Parametri discriminatori nel riconoscimento di volti, Polizia Moderna, n.1, 1998.

[14] Chellapa R., Wilson C.L., Sirohey S., Human and machine recognition of faces: a survey, Proceedings of the IEEE, 83(5):705-735, may 1995.

[15] Brunelli R., Poggio T., Face recognition:features versus Templates, IEEE Transaction on Pattern analysis and machine intelligence,vol. 15, no. 10, october 1993.

[16] Wu C., Huang J., Human face profile recognition by computer, Pattern recognition, Vol 23 No.3/4 pp.255-259, 1990.

[17] Wong K.H., Hudson H.M., Law and Tsang P.W.M., A system for recognising human faces, Dept. of Computer Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Dept. of Elect. Eng. City Poly. of U. K., Technical Report, 1991.

[18] I. Craw, P. Cameron. Face recognition by computer. Pagg 498-508. D.Hogg and R. Boyle editors, Proceedings British Machine Vision Conference, Springer Verlag, 1992.

[19] M.S. Kamel, H.C. Shen, A.K.C. Wong, T.M. Hong, R.I. Campenu, Face recognition using perspective invariant features, Pattern Recognition Letters, 877-884, 1994.

[20] P. Rajesh, N. Rao, H. Ballard, Natural basis functions and topographic memory for face recognition, Proceedings of the International Conference of Artificial Intelligence, 10-17, 1995.

[21] D. Gullà, “Two Cases of an Anthropometric Identification in Two Supposed Anomalous Photographs”, Proceedings of Congress the Association “Casa dell’ Albero”, October 2001, Carpi (MO)

[22] D. Gullà, “Forensic Analyses in Parapsichology“, Proceedings of XVI National Congress of “Il Movimento della Speranza”, January 2002, Roma.

[23] D. Gullà, “Images and Voice Anomalous; Case of Pattern Recognition,” session of University of Imola (BO), Gen. 2004

2006 AA-EVP Conference

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

c2003babcock_ocean_bay — 2003 Erland Babcock ITC “Ocean Bay”

Report on the 2006 AA-EVP Conference

(The name of the association has since been changed from AA-EVP to Association TransCommunication)

The conference was a complete success by all accounts. All of the speakers we present and prepared, the attendees were attentive and the media was out in force. By one account, the conference was the “International ITC event of the year.”

The Presentations

c2006estep-tom_and_lisa_web — AA-EVP Directors, Tom and Lisa Butler addressing conference attendees

The Thursday Evening session was led by Tom and Lisa Butler. “EVP 101” is the title of the workshop Tom and Lisa teach. Portions of that were presented by them Thursday night. Should they decide to teach an Instructor Certification Course, EVP 101 would be in the core suite of lessons.

The presentation included a discussion about the characteristics of EVP presented by Lisa Butler, followed by a discussion about the basic “how to” for recording EVP. Experience has shown that individuals develop a personal, often unique way to record for EVP, but that it is best for people new to the field to first learn a way that is most likely to produce EVP. The instructions on the website provide the essence of those procedures. See Basic EVP Recording Techniques

Friday morning opening comments for the conference were especially important to Tom, because he managed to surprise Lisa with a new HP Palm Pilot, which would replace her often folded yellow paper “Personal Data Assistant.” Tom pointed out in the presentation that the conference would not have taken place were it not for Lisa’s initiative and hard work. Debbie Caruso was a fellow conspirator in helping Tom surprise Lisa.

c2006estep-sarah_garrett_husveth_al_rauber_web — Al Rouber (left) Sarah and Garrett Husveth.
[Photograph for Becky Estep]

c2006estep-sarah_jim_carol_web — Carol Peterson, Jim Stonier with Sarah
[Photograph for Becky Estep]

Sarah Estep presented a brief introduction about her experience with EVP and then some of her best EVP examples were played, ending with a one minute EVP containing music thought to have been originated by Ludwig Beethoven.

At the conclusion of the presentation, Sarah was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.

You can hear the Beethoven EVP here

c2006aaevp-sonia_rinaldi_web — Sonia Rinaldi explaining how she is now receiving images along with here telephone-based EVP

Sonia Rinaldi described her work with EVP/ITC, in which she uses a computer and a video camera operating in a mirrored mode. We were all fascinated by the faces she is finding in the optical noise, as they are unlike any we are seeing from other researchers. This new site ipati.org

Laurie Monroe brought the attendees up to date about how The Monroe

c2006estep-louri_monroe_web — Laurie Monroe

Institute is learning to apply Hemi-Sync technology to improve human potential. One slide, in particular, seems to tell The Monroe Institute story: “The Monroe Institute proposes to introduce, at all levels of human endeavor, an ability of mental and spiritual functioning that will constructively change humankind’s direction and destiny.” monroeinstitute.com

We regret to inform you that
Laurie made her transition in 2006.

c2006aaevp-paolo_presi_web — Paolo Presi

Paolo Presi presented the work of Il Laboratorio. To our knowledge, this is the only organization in the world that is organized and dedicated to the study of trans-etheric phenomena with the use of clinical/forensic quality tools. His detailed presentation illustrated how the voices of EVP might sound like the voice of the person while still in the physical, but that the formation of the voice is sometimes impossible to produce with a human voice apparatus. On a similar note, he also described how face recognition software is able to help certify that the face found in transcommunication is the same as the face of the person while in the physical. See The Work at Il Laboratorio for the transcript of Presi’s Il Laboratorio presentation.

Paolo Presi later translated the documentary video of Marcello Bacci, the man who continues to conduct two-way, real-time communication with people on the other side with a short wave radio. Bacci even brings family members into his home to speak with their discarnate loved ones. See The Instrumental Transcommunication Work Of Marcello Bacci for the transcript of Presi’s Bacci presentation

Mark Macy gave an overview of some of the astounding communications that occurred in Europe during the late part of last decade. This included reports of telephone conversations he has had with Konstantin Raudive after Raudive’s transition. Mark uses a device known as a “Luminator” to take ITC pictures. The device is believed to modify the subtle energy environment near it, and was initially used as an aid for medical diagnoses. Mark has found that he will sometimes find “extras” in Polaroid picture taken of peoples standing in the field. worlditc.org

c2006aaevp-allan_botkin_closeup_web — Dr. Allan Botkin

Dr. Allan Botkin’s Induced After Death Communication (IADC) presentation produced a number of points that have to be further investigated. For instance, he told the attendees that he saw evidence that too much grief could block an IADC. He also said that it seemed very much like an assistant had shared an IADC with the patient. His IADC success rate had been less for patients who knew about the process beforehand, and that he sometimes needed to “sneak up on them” to make the induction. His success rate also seemed to be much greater if he doodled while with the patient. Gary Schwartz told us that many mediums doodled, which suggests an entirely new direction for research. induced-adc.com

c2006aaevp-tom_and_lisa_presenting_web — Tom and Lisa Butler, ATransC Directors

Lisa Butler presented a number of success stories that are considered to be important role models for others to follow.

Tom Butler followed with the observation that it is time to standardize the way phenomena are

Alexander MacRae speaking at the 2006 AA-EVP Conference

described, and suggested “Unique Event” for experiences with none other to compare, “Indeterminate Event” for “true” phenomena that cannot be distinguished from the mundane and “Established Event” for phenomena such as EVP. He also gave an overview of the forms of visual phenomena being reported to the AA-EVP. He finished with a description of the 4Cell EVP Demonstration, explaining how effective a protocol is for EVP research.

Long-time EVP researcher Alexander MacRae

c2006estep-lisa_tom_alec_web — Alexander MacRae, Tom Butler (middle) and Lisa Butler

gave the audience an overview of how he became an EVP researcher and how he has evolved his research tools. It was easy to see why his work is so often quoted by us.

Diana and Alan Bennett were instrumental in the successes of the Scole Project and have now turned their attention to visual forms of spirit communication with very impressive results, which they shared with attendees. We will try to include an article featuring the Bennett’s work in the next NewsJournal. Their technique is easily replicable in a mechanical sense, but Diana and Alan reminded the attendees how important it is for the person to make contact with the entities via meditation and respect.

Sonia Rinaldi (left), Alan Bennett, Lisa Butler and Diana Bennett [Photograph for Becky Estep]	Alan and Diana Bennett
Martha Copeland	Big Circle Web Master, Lisa Yesse (left) with Martha Copeland

Martha Copeland presented for the Big Circle and played many EVP examples. She invited Vicki Talbott and Debra Caruso to join her at the podium to describe their success with EVP. The fact that three mothers were able to tell the attendees about continuing their relationships with children now on the other side provides an important role model for all of us. About their talk, William Deluca wrote, “It gave me reassurance that what we are doing is for real and comforts us when we really need it.”

We regret to inform you that Debbie has made her transition.

c2006aaevp-gary_schwartz_web — Dr. Gary Schwartz

c2006estep-tom_gary_web — Dr. Gary Schwartz (left) and Tom Butler
[Photograph for Becky Estep]

The final presentation was made by Dr. Gary Schwartz who described his early work with survival researcher, Susy Smith, and the events that led to the development of his current research protocols. Gary’s study of

c2006estep-tom_paolo_allan_gary_web — Tom Butler (left) Paolo Presi, Dr. Alan Botkin and Dr. Gary Schwartz
[Photograph for Becky Estep]

mediumship is producing an important, evidence-based map of what might be thought of as “organic” spirit communication, as opposed to the technology-augmented spirit communication practiced in EVP and ITC. His work has produced some of the most substantial evidence of postmortem survival of the personality available today.

Those of you who have followed Gary’s work will recognize that the 4Cell EVP Demonstration protocol has been inspired by the protocols he has developed in an effort to answer the critic’s questions. veritas.arizona.edu

c2006aaevp-media_lisa_huston_web — Lisa Huston

We should note that the media was well represented at the conference by four documentary crews

Unless otherwise noted, photographs were taken by Jim Stonier

Becky Estep’s Eulogy for her Mother Sarah Estep

04/ 202009/ 2016 by Becky Estep

by Becky Estep and read at Sarah’s funeral
See also the Memorial article

Sarah Estep
taken by Ludwig Schonheid in Tarrytown, NY in the 1980s

I want to thank each of you for being here today. At this moment, there are people scattered throughout the world, in this country and abroad, who wanted to be here and would have been, if circumstances had permitted it. I extend my heartfelt appreciation to those individuals as well, because I know their love and prayers are also being sent to my mother. In particular, I want to acknowledge a very special woman, Clara Laughlin. My mother and I are eternally thankful for her steadfast friendship and devotion, down through the years. Clara was an honor and a timeless gift to my mother.

My mom, as some of you know, was a researcher in the field of life after death. In particular, she was focused on the area of Electronic Voice Phenomena otherwise known as EVP. She was a pioneer in this field, and spent years educating the public about it. My mother traveled extensively: to New York, Florida, Nevada, Illinois, Indiana and Georgia; she journeyed to the pyramids, temples, and deserts of Egypt; to caves in England; to the coliseums of Rome; to Switzerland, Luxembourg, and to the mountains of Brazil. Everywhere she traveled, my mother shared her conviction with those she met: the conviction that we do, indeed, survive death and that we ascend into a magnificent eternity. Mom had a way of leaving a part of herself wherever she went and in doing so, she forever became more of who she truly is. My mother was, first and foremost, a seeker and a pilgrim. In her sojourn through life, she brought comfort and hope to countless people.

But this seeker and pilgrim was also “my mom,” and I’d like to share a little of who that person was.

In earlier years, my mother had been a social worker for a children’s aid society, a first grade teacher, a camp director and a writer. When I was a child, Mom showed me my first rainbow. She got me through scarlet fever, chicken pox, the mumps, strep throat and a broken foot. Even long after I had grown into adulthood, she still fussed at me when I wouldn’t wear a hat in cold weather or forgot to put on my seatbelt.

Mom shared her jelly beans with me when we went to the movies and I shared my popcorn (no extra salt). She walked with me through the forests of Camp Woodlands where we crossed Friendship Bridge together. She taught me how to play the slot machines at Dover Downs in Delaware, and we sometimes watched the Leonids meteor shower in November and looked for eclipses of the moon.

Mom always kept an eye out for my brother’s favorite candy bars and made sure he got the Ocean City, New Jersey newspaper that she was a long-time subscriber of. She gave rose petals, lilacs, fresh yellow tomatoes and wind chimes to my sister. When her grandchildren were younger, she took them clothes shopping at the beginning of the school year, and she relished each and every visit from them. She always made sure my father got the comics from the Sunday paper. My mom always treated us to lunch on Mother’s Day—it was one of her ways of saying “thank you for being in this world”.

Mom loved scary movies and James Bond movies. She could both love and hate the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, all within the space of a single inning. She volunteered at the local church garage sale, collected donations for the National Kidney Foundation, the American Cancer Society and charities that help blind people. She helped support the Christian Appalachian Project and various American Indian reservations. Mom would help a neighbor if she could.

Mom loved the ocean, licorice, books, all the dogs she’s ever owned, robins in spring, video games, wind chimes, lime popsicles, spareribs, spaghetti, a good bowl of chili, (with beans), pecan pie, kites and balloons. She could laugh until she had tears in her eyes, over the silliest and smallest of things. She helped point the way to the Temple of Abydos in Egypt; my arrival there turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Mom comprehended joy and anguish; she understood guilt and regret; she knew the healing power of solitude; she had her disappointments and triumphs. My mother possessed all the noble majesties and dark frailties of the human spirit, which are inherent in us all. And finally, my mother always had one foot in this world and one foot in the next, and sought to build a bridge between the two. This is my mother … all of this and so much more … the kind of person who weeps when dragons die.

One of Mother’s acquaintances, Anabela Cardoso, was once told by her friend and colleague in spirit, Carlos de Almeida, that: “Horizons far from you do not finish in the world but enter a sacred Universe.” I know my mother believed this and it was one of the lights that she lived by.

In closing, I’d like to say to my mom that it’s one of my eternal hopes and prayers that you are always and forever sanctified by the best that love has to offer. May you be everlastingly blessed with abundant laughter, redeemed by Truth, and consecrated by a joyful sense of wonder. At the threshold of the door of forever, there’s a welcome home sign for all souls. I know you’ll leave a candle burning for us in the window of Heaven.

In Memory of Sarah Estep, an ITC Pioneer

04/ 202009/ 2016 by Becky Estep

EVP Online Phantom Voices

05/ 202009/ 2016 by Tom Butler

by Tom Butler
Previously published in the Fall 2012 ATransC NewsJournal

Abstract

A frequent source of consternation for people who are asked to listen to EVP examples is their failure to hear what is reported. It is expected there will be some disagreement between listeners and practitioners. That is the nature of EVP (see Online Listening Study). However, a problem develops when listeners report hearing only noise, and doing so with example after example from the same practitioner when the practitioner insists there are paranormal voices in the examples. The question necessarily must turn to why the practitioner is hearing what others do not.

For this study, sound file containing only noise were presented to ATransC.org online listeners who were told there was only noise and were then asked to report what they heard. The study confirmed the prevalence of people who report hearing “phantom voices.” the study includes a discussion as to why this may be.

Introduction

The evidence is very clear that there are examples of Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) that contain clearly understood messages. EVP are empirically demonstrated phenomena. Yet, a commonly heard complaint is that websites concerned with the paranormal often have examples of EVP that sound like simple noise.

Website visitors have used the contact tool to announce that they are receiving astoundingly long and important EVP, which on close examination, have proven to only contain noise. Yet, others have provided excellent, clearly heard examples. So what is the difference? What leads one person to hear messages where there is only noise while others do not?

The prevalence of this “phantom voices” phenomenon is increasingly evident as more people become involved in EVP. The resulting confusion is seen as an obstacle to useful collaboration amongst practitioners and certainly must warn off potential researchers.

Listening Test

To develop more understanding of the problem of phantom voices, the ATransC conducted an online listening study using two sound files. One contained simple brown noise (emphasis on voice-frequencies) and the other contained broad-spectrum noise modulated with audio pulses that simulate the cadence of speech. It was clearly stated that neither example contained voice. Possible explanations about what might cause a person to hear phantom voices were included above the hearing test and what was in the files was clearly stated.

Results

Of the 111 submissions, 15.3% (17) reported hearing voices in the brown noise file and 27.8% (33) reported hearing voices in the modulated file. That means that 39% (43) reported voice in one or both of the files.

Participants were also asked if they had a history of hearing voices not heard by others. Thirty-six percent (40) of the respondents said that they did. Most indicated they were likely in a hypnagogic state of awareness.

Interestingly, many respondents reported hearing music or musical tones. While hearing music might be an associated characteristic of the phantom voices phenomenon, the question has not been addressed here.

Analysis

This was an informal study in the sense that there were no controls. Although respondents were asked how the samples were listened to, it is mostly unknown if the samples were heard under optimum conditions. It is also reasonable to ask if respondents would be candid about hearing voices they were told were not present. There is probably a natural selection of respondents which biases the results away from “hearing voices” reports. The website receives nearly a thousand visitors a day and receiving only 111 responses to the study over more than a year suggests that many who might have read the discussion prior to listening to the sound files, and subsequently heard voices, chose not to respond. For the purpose of future study, it is hypothesized that at least 43% might hear voices in sound files which are not present.

Theory

The phantom voices phenomenon appears to have a number of possible causes ranging from mental illness to the natural human tendency to make sense of ambiguous stimuli. Mental illness does not appear to be a factor for EVP; however, in the most extreme examples, there does appear to be a complex of common behaviors which may imply a situational fixation on hearing voices. This is addressed below in “Listener Fatigue.”

Hypnagogia

There are a number of mental characteristics described in the psychological literature that touch on this experience, but hypnagogia seems to be a key concept. It is defined as: Inducing sleep; soporific [sleepiness]; drowsiness preceding sleep; relating to the images or hallucinations sometimes experienced in this state. According to Gurstelle and de Oliveira,¹ “…daytime parahypnagogia (DPH) is more likely to occur when one is tired, bored, suffering from attention fatigue, and/or engaged in a passive activity….”

The mind will naturally seek order in chaotic stimuli (see “Perceptual Order” below). The order is apparently based on what is in the person’s memory, so the almost-heard sounds have a familiar feel for the experiencer. A common report received by the ATransC is hearing voices or music for which the source cannot be found or recorded. In most reports, the sounds are described as a distant conversation or the sound of a radio program that can “almost” be made out, but no specific words or songs can be identified. As it happens, the phantom voices are often associated with a person who is distracted by activities that permit the person’s mind to wander. They may also be experienced at the beginning and end of sleep time.

Experiencers often resist mundane explanations, and insist they are experiencing something paranormal.

Audio Illusion

There are also a number of types of auditory illusions that have been identified. A good article about these is “Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain)” by Rich Pell.² One such illusion is described as “The phantom words illusion,” which is simply the same two words being repeated over and over but time displaced between the left and right channel. This demonstrates how easy it is to hear words and phrases that are not there, and even hear them change, as the brain attempts to make sense of the aural ambiguity. This is a pretty interesting effect!

Passive Concentration

Perhaps a better term for hypnagogia would be “passive concentration” because the person has focused attention, but not with concentrated awareness. This distraction from the inner chatter of the brain leaves the mind open for unnoticed inputs.

In principle, the hypnagogic state of mind is ideal for our etheric communicators to commune with our otherwise too busy mind. Passive concentration is a spontaneous version of mindful meditation which is a deliberately cultivated technique for communing with one’s inner senses and is an important technique for mediumship. The important point is that we must recognize the part these natural tendencies play in our perception of phenomena.

Apophenia and Pareidolia

Apophenia is a term used in psychology for the mind’s natural tendency to identify patterns where none exist. Pareidolia is a subset of apophenia which applies to finding meaning in sound or images that does not exist. Skeptics love to use these terms to explain away reports of paranormal experiences. When applied to all reports with no examination of the evidence, these terms are, in effect, psychobabble used to explain why people reporting paranormal experiences are imagining things. The term, “apophenia” does not apply to simple cases of misidentification such as a balloon being identified as a UFO or a fellow investigator’s reflection being mistaken as a ghost in a mirror. It applies to the result of the mind’s need to find order in chaos. When presented with information the mind is unable to identify or make sense of, its natural reaction is to offer up the next best fit. If the person is intent on finding voices in noise, the mind will probably offer a likely word or two.

Some reports of the paranormal may be instances of apophenia. The study of things paranormal often involves poorly formed images and hard to understand sound files which must be carefully studied. A person who is unfamiliar with the concept of mediumship, and who does not know it is possible to sense subtle energy, may be inclined to express a natural fear of the dark as a “sense of a nearby evil entity.” Such responses to unfamiliar experiences are not evidence of a psychological flaw, but are natural human attempts to relate to circumstances. The “antidote” is education.

Perceptual Order

In Gestalt psychology, the whole is seen as being different than the sum of its parts. In this, the observer might find understanding where there is little or no substantiating information. The Gestalt Laws of Perceptual Organization³ also provide possible explanations for the natural human tendency to find order in chaos. They include:

The Law of Similarity: Similar stimuli or elements that are close together tend to be grouped.

The Law of Closure: Stimuli tend to be grouped into complete figures.

The Law of Good Continuation: Stimuli tend to be grouped so as to minimize change or discontinuity.

The Law of Symmetry: Regions bound by symmetrical borders tend to be perceived as coherent figures.

The Law of Simplicity: Ambiguous stimuli tend to be resolved in favor of the simplest.

Clairaudience

Clairvoyance or “clear seeing” has become a catchall term for the ability to sense information in subtle energy. This may be in the form of voices, images, smells or a general “knowing.” It is possible that a person might hear voices in a soundtrack containing only noise, via clairaudience, if none are physically present. However, in the study of EVP, the voices are either physically there or they are not. If they are there, then others should be able to experience them. They are objective, meaning they have physical form. Understanding this point is central to the study of how transcommunication is experienced.

Listener Fatigue

EVP practitioners spend a lot of time listening to often noisy audio recordings. The expected EVP are usually mostly hidden by the noise and one must listen very carefully to distinguish them. Once isolated, the paranormal utterances are usually Class C, meaning they are not very easily understood. This makes it necessary for the practitioner to concentrate and listen to the sound segment many times. This situation is a formula for noise to be mistaken as anticipated EVP.

Discussion

The first documentation of EVP was in 1959 and the phenomenon remains poorly understood today. Fundamentally, the examples are just sound tracks usually containing a lot of noise and a few, often poorly formed words.

With proper training, usually gained by trial and error, with feedback from friends or people on the ATransC Idea Exchange, the practitioner learns to recognize the difference between actual voices transformed out of background noise and imagined messages. However, in cases in which this learning has not occurred, practitioners have been known to find meaning which does not exist in the noise. For all of the reasons one might propose to explain this, the most available means of avoiding problems with phantom voices is education.

This study should provide a sense of how common it is for individuals to mistake mundane information as something paranormal. The phantom voices effect is not unique to EVP, but can be seen in virtually all forms of transcommunication including visual ITC and mediumship. While this report addresses what has been called here, “phantom voices,” the larger phenomenon might be referred to as a form of hyperlucidity as the experiencer’s mind goes to extremes in an attempt to assign meaning.

References

Gurstelle EB, de Oliveira JL., Daytime parahypnagogia: a state of consciousness that occurs when we almost fall asleep, William Paterson University, Wayne, nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14962619, Reviewed 5-3-2012
Pell, Rich, Audio illusions that will fool your ear (and brain), com/electronics-blogs/audio-designline-blog/4033473/Audio-illusions-that-will-fool-your-ear-and-brain-, Reviewed 5-3-2012
Saw, Jim, “Design Notes: Art 104 Sesign and Composition,” Palomar College, palomar.edu/design/gestalt.html, Reviewed 1-9-2015

Precursor Sounds in Physical Phenomena

07/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler

(As published in the Summer 2002 AA-EVP NewsJournal.)

Many of our members have talked and written to us about a noise that is often heard right before an EVP message. It appears before some of our own EVP. It is a loud, or not so loud, click, pop, boom or crackling sound. Some have described it as similar to the sound of someone keying a microphone. One noted researcher likened the noise to a micro sonic boom. When we are listening back to an EVP recording and hear this sound, we listen more intently to what comes next. If you are one of the many people who have experienced this noise you know what I am talking about.

Not all EVP messages are preceded by this precursor, “popping” sound. For us it is an occasional occurrence. But when we hear it we are not unlike Pavlov’s dogs, ears perk up waiting for that reward. The click, if there, means a reward of an EVP. It, for us, usually signals a better than average EVP as far as loudness, quality and clarity is concerned.

Geoff Viney in his book Surviving Death, Evidence of the Afterlife discusses this mysterious sound in relation to other types of phenomena. [Please note that Viney reported that Peter Thorneycrof did the work in the RAF museum (below). We have subsequently learned that the work was conducted by his nephew, Ivan Spenceley.]

In 1986 the downstairs rooms, in a farmhouse in England, were infiltrated with the voices of those who appeared to be former residents. The voices were heard over several nights. The voices began and ended with a distinct “click” as if a radio had been turned on and off. Investigators looked for a receiver or a transmitter, but none was found. Natural explanations for the phenomena were ruled out.
In 1973 the owner of a converted lighthouse in Maryland repeatedly had his sleep interrupted by the racket of doors banging, furniture moving and footsteps. A “clicking” sound preceded these manifestations. Upon further investigation nothing in the area that the noises came from appeared out of place. The building’s owner decided to try and record what he was hearing and left a tape recorder running. The tape contained voices and extraneous noises. Some of these voices talked about the treatment of injuries. A local librarian helped research the home and to everyone’s amazement found that the building was used as a field hospital during the Civil War.
The anomalous events centering on a World War II Lincoln bomber at the RAF Cosford Aerospace Museum were researched in 1990 by the British investigator Ivan Spenceley. The strange sounds of scratches, squeaks, girl’s voices, bumps and human sighs had been reported in the vicinity of the bomber. The staff had seen phantom air crews and dramatic drops in temperature were reported. Other phenomena included the movement of switches and the rotation of the wheels of the aircraft. Thorneycroft saw moving points of bright light and also heard and recorded many anomalous sounds within the aircraft. These sounds, which were most often mechanical movement type noises, were analyzed and it was found that they always began with a discernable blip on the tape similar to that produced by a sudden burst of static.

The clicking noise associated with EVP messages has been the center of considerable conversation for quite sometime. Perhaps this sound is caused by a dimensional breakthrough and is an artifact of spirit world energy entering the physical world. The above stories might point to this type of answer.

Paolo Presi on page 3 of this newsletter reports on Carlo Trajna’s “Psychotemporal Model” in which “Psychic Time” flows differently from “Physical Time.” Is this anomalous sound before EVP messages caused from a shift in time as the two aspects of reality link up?

Alexander MacRae used an oscilloscope in analyzing a well-known recording from the Palace Hotel. When viewing this recording Alec noticed that the level of background noise (whistles, hums and buzzing which were side effects of the equipment) on the oscilloscope almost went to zero. Three or four seconds after the background noise disappeared, a woman’s voice was heard to say “Now.” Two seconds later, a male voice was recorded with a personal message for his sister who was in the audience. Another few seconds passed and a female voice said, “Finish,” and then the background noise once again returned to normal on the oscilloscope.

Perhaps the precursor noise we hear on our recordings is similar to the word “Now” heard on Alexander’s recording. It may simply be a signal or a cue for us to listen closely to what comes next. Is this noise similar to our telephone ringing letting us know that someone is calling? Alexander’s recording may point to another possible fact, and that is that the entities need and gather all available noise and energy to get their message through to us.

Do those on the other side have equipment that they use to try and contact us? Are researchers, indeed, hearing the keying of something like a microphone? And are those on the other side doing this? Several researchers in the past and present say that they have been in contact with groups on the other side that state that they have developed apparatus for communication with researchers on this side and that this development continues.

The Instrumental Transcommunication Work Of Marcello Bacci

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Paolo Presi

As presented by Paolo Presi at the 2006 AA-EVP conference.
©Paolo Presi – All Rights Reserved

After more than thirty-five years of dedicated study of Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC), Marcello Bacci can be considered a leading expert in the field due to this exceptionally long record of experimentation with the voices. The remarkable phenomena that have occurred in the past decades in Grosseto, Italy, indicate that this persevering experimenter is always prepared to locate new openings to communicate with the beyond.

Bacci’s character is such that he is never satisfied with the results achieved and always wishes to continue the exploration from other possible perspectives. His interest in the paranormal goes back to 1949 when he participated in a mediumistic sitting in London. From that time, his life was indelibly marked and today, at seventy-nine years of age, he continues to make regular experiments, once a month.

Bacci is a man with wide-ranging creativity. His personality reveals itself to be unconditioned and free, intolerant of any restriction coming from dogmatic and cultural pressures that seek to reject realities that personal experience has indicated to him are possible.

In his long years of experimental work, Bacci has tested various methods and many technical devices. In the beginning he made microphone recordings, in the same manner as Jürgenson and Raudive. Over the years he has made many other attempts with newly developed devices. In the past two decades he has been obtaining his transcontacts through an old Nordmende valve radio.

Today, Bacci performs his monthly experiments in the presence of many people, mainly parents who are hoping to establish contact with their deceased children. It is important to observe that Bacci, who has applied himself to ITC with great commitment for more than thirty-five years, never asks for money or other kinds of financial incentive.

In his experiments, Bacci tunes his radio to the short-wave band, in a frequency ranging between 7 and 9 MHz, in a zone clear from normal radio transmissions. After waiting for ten to twenty minutes the existing background noise disappears and a typical acoustic signal comes out of the loudspeaker, similar to an approaching wind vortex, repeated three or four times at short intervals. Silence then follows, at the end of which an invisible speaker starts to communicate by establishing with Bacci, or with the people attending the experiment, something like a dialogue. It is interesting to observe that usually the entities address Bacci in the third person and only rarely in the first person.

The paranormal vocal utterances are not continuous but interspersed with pauses. They last for varying lengths of time from a minimum of approximately ten seconds to a maximum of three to four minutes. Sometime the contact ends with a solemn choir. Once the contact is concluded, the normal background noise returns. Each experimental session lasts about forty to sixty minutes.

It is important to highlight some peculiarities that characterize the role of the radio receiver in the experiments. The first is the perfect continuity of the communicating voice [even] if the receiving frequency is continuously changed by rotating the tuning control knob during the reception of paranormal voices. The second peculiarity is found in the experiment that took place on December 5, 2004 in Bacci’s laboratory. Approximately one hour after the commencement of the voices and while they were still continuing, the radio receiver’s five valves were all removed. Despite the absence of the valves, the voices continued to speak with undiminished volume and clarity. Lastly, the phenomenon persisted intermittently for two minutes and twenty seconds after Bacci switched off the radio.

marcellobacci_web — Marcello Bacci standing in front of a few of his radios. The Nordmende is the large radio with a wood cabinet.

From my point of view, the above peculiarities provide evidence that, once the phenomenon commences, the radio ceases to function as a normal radio receiver. The radio appears to become a device, psychically supported, through which the paranormal voices can be heard. Other evidence that the voices received by Bacci are a mediumistic phenomenon is confirmed by the fact that the paranormal contacts happen only when he is present. Upon occasion, when Bacci has been away from the place of the experiments, some of his friends have tried to establish contacts by operating the same radio, but without any result. All these details are highly significant since they demonstrate that ITC needs to be supported by mediumistic or psychic abilities. It is my personal opinion that the phenomenon should be considered as an interactive process among a “Mind System.”

The invisible communicators affirm that they are Spiritual Beings. Sometimes they have asserted, “The Spirit is speaking to you,” without giving any indication of their identity. With unequivocal precision all the communications reveal the presence of autonomous intelligent beings, differing from each other by the voice characteristics and by the emotional and conceptual content that characterize each communicating personality.

The voices deal with the most varied topics, freely chosen by the communicators themselves, since Bacci has no wish to interfere and only occasionally asks questions. The invisible communicators have always demonstrated a profound and sensitive response to the human pain caused through the death of a loved one, expressing words of great comfort and strength.

Particular care is given to the messages that provide parents with direct evidence of the continuity of life after death of their deceased children. The entity called “Gregorio” often addresses parents with warm words of deep understanding, giving reassurance to those who are still doubtful, as in the following example:

Dear mothers, we have already told you that your loved ones suffer only if you are suffering. A day will come where the mysteries will be disclosed to you, the haze will be dissipated and all of you will be embraced by a clear light. One day you’ll leave your body where you found it, to reach another order of being.

The end of each experiment is devoted to personal contacts between deceased children and their parents who attend the experiment. The children’s communications are an attempt to reassure their parents of their survival in another dimension, in their new state of existence. These contacts, besides producing an immediate emotional impact that is profoundly moving for the recipients, represent the most convincing evidence of the authenticity of the phenomena.

Most often, another voice informs the parents of the presence of the deceased loved one, but at other times the child directly manifests himself or herself by repeatedly pronouncing his or her name or by giving in a few words as an emotionally pregnant message.

It is astonishing how the children’s voices are sometimes modulated with timbre, lilt and inflexion recognized by the parents. They can be male or female, childish, juvenile or adult depending upon the circumstance. Sometimes the sentences are pronounced slowly as though the speaker has met some difficulty in finding the appropriate words, while at other times, sentences are fast and expressed without any hesitation. To overcome the distrust and incredulity of participants who are attending an experiment for the first time, the voices adopt an effective, direct method: they address such people by their own, personal name. The impact is immediate; those who listen to their name coming from the radio are astonished, literally captivated.

From an unknown communicator who introduced himself as “a citizen of heaven” came a significant message on the subject of death:

Fear to die? I don’t believe that death deserves so much! Here is Life after death. Death has been beat and this hope is not an illusion, your life must be transformed. There is another dimension, another Life. Remember, the Spirit will transform your mortal body into a spiritual body. Have you understood? This is inconceivable for the human being! Human beings are not eternal but much more then eternal! Your body will become Spirit, not similar but the same being; about this we cannot say anything more.

Frequently the invisible speakers have stated that the communications occur by means of “waves that are not physical,” and they exhorted us to take a qualitative step forward when they said:

Be aware: it is supernatural what they are listening to and seeing.

The basic concept, that has been repeatedly asserted, concerns the finality of these communications. They must be considered not only as consolatory, but as having the ultimate goal of helping people in their correct understanding of the afterlife.

The Spirit is manifesting as mediator of the Truth, He comes to speak in this special way assuming a human feature to give his message. His presence allows you to approach the absolute Truth which cannot be entirely defined due to the limitations of human speech.

From the many communications received to this date, the following are some of the recurrent themes found within the information conveyed by the voices:

Astonishment about their new surroundings.
Time blocked.
Unbelievable speed.
Perception of endless space.

The description of the beyond is characterized by astonishment due to the perception of a timeless environment that is depicted as “time blocked.” In our physical continuum, the sensory perception is linear and the learning process is actuated through progressive steps that result in time flowing from the past to the future. After death the perception changes: progressive learning is no longer effective as in the temporal dimension, but seems rather to operate as a simultaneous perception that is felt as “unbelievable speed.”

It is difficult to imagine how the communications, coming from a timeless dimension, are able to arrive in our space-time continuum. When we utter a word we are generating a temporal sequence of vowel and consonant sounds, and this is a normal process in our space-time continuum. The communication channel from and to the beyond has to pass through two different continua, the first one is the timeless and spaceless continuum and the second one is our space-time continuum. To make possible the transmission of words the communicator and the receiver must be placed within the same continuum: from what I can imagine this would only be possible through a common means of communication that shares the same capabilities, such as the psyche of discarnate and incarnate beings.

In this discussion, our understanding of the “psyche” should not be limited to human beings living in this physical, earth plane. It must also possess the capabilities to move, under certain conditions, into a timeless and spaceless continuum. In this regard, the human psychic capabilities of precognition, clairvoyance, extra-sensory perception, etc. are well known.

Evidence of that adaptation process may be found within the speech streaming features of the voices. In the early 1970s, at the beginning of his experimentation, the voices received by Bacci were of the same acoustic level as those recorded by Jürgenson and Raudive. In particular, they were characterized by a special rhythm and a slight singing cadence, factors that may depend upon the time stream. By the late 1970s both these characteristics had practically disappeared and the voices had assumed a typical “impulsive” speech articulation. Such impulsive articulation in the word utterances has become more evident in the past decades. This can be heard as a continuous change of utterance speed of each phoneme constituting the word, as the communicating personalities try continuously to adapt their temporal situation to ours. I proposed this hypothesis some years ago, but today my conceptual model about the paranormal voice structuring process has benefited from the broader understanding obtained thanks to the wide range of experiments conducted by Bacci and other ITC experimenters.

It is important to note that the communication experiments often conclude with an emotionally evocative and solemn choir. All choirs heard to date present a melodic stream that is absolutely regular and without the time alterations found in the articulation speed of the words in other transcommunication. Why?

The answer can be found in the following: If the same psychic model is operating in both the sender and the receiver, the result will be in accordance with their expectations, that is, with their interiorized psychic models. In other words, it is strange to structure a psychic model of a choir singing without harmony, that is, without a regular flow of pleasant sounds. Here is an example:

Many times the communicators invite the people attending the experiment to overcome their doubts by making a full immersion in the mystery. To this regard I believe that the following communication, coming from an Entity, recognized by his nickname “The Wise,” is addressed to researchers like myself who are trying to rationalize the voice phenomenon or, in a broader sense, the spiritual experience.

His message was:

The problem is not to define the mystery but let the mystery penetrate us through the eyes of Faith. It’s quite important the availability of the mind and heart and in particular it’s essential to ask the Spirit for the hospitality of heart.

The sentence reveals an interconnection that goes beyond the physical plane and introduces us to an indissoluble network of relationships that go beyond time. Delving deeper into the meaning of the message, it is possible to derive the real meaning: only by opening the mind and the heart is it possible to allow the mystery to penetrate us. By “availability of the mind,” we might understand “silencing of the mind” or a faithful attitude, rather than strict rationality. By “availability of the heart” we might understand “silencing of any egoism.”

Since 1985 I have defined this special mind attitude as “Inner Attentive Disposition,” which is, I am sure, an absolute prerequisite for establishing contacts with other planes of consciousness. From my point of view, this is the determining factor in opening the hidden channel that connects our physical plane to the higher planes of consciousness where one day we will, I believe, again meet all of our loved ones.

Presented at the 2006 ATransC conference in Atlanta, Georgia

Recording Thoughts of the Living?

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler, 2001

Originally printed in the Spring 2001 AA-EVP NewsJournal

There is some evidence that at least a few of the messages we record in EVP, may actually be put there by people who are still in the physical. Here are a few examples from members:

In the Spring 1982 newsletter, Sarah quoted Tina Laurent of Wales: “I’ve had on two occasions, voices that sound exactly like two people I know, they gave their names too, but they are STILL living. I don’t know what to make of that. Do you? One of them I played for my brother and his wife and they recognized them straight away and they have always thought that I played a joke on them.”
Ernst Senkowski contributed this: “I several times observed at least the name and possibly the voice of a living person some 300 miles away. . .(A) case seems to have happened in Italy wherein an EVP experimenter succeeded in taping the contents of the mind of a far absent living person. So we have to be very careful in stating ‘our’ voices come from the ‘dead.’”
Jacque Blanc-Garin of France recently wrote to say that, “About the problem of voices from living persons. I tried some experiments regarding this fact. I called some persons (my wife and some other friends with their agreement – important point for ethics) who were sleeping. I received many messages where some were a proof. For example, I asked my wife where she was? Answer: I am in the air, Monique. Another question: Do you meet your family on the other side? Answer: I meet all but I will come to you because I love you Poupoune. (The name Poupoune is the nickname given to Monique by her parents). That means we have the possibility to tape the voice of a person who is sleeping, because we go out of body while some part of us is asleep.” (See below)
Edna Drake, B.C. Canada, comments that she has reason to believe an EVP message she received was from a brain damaged friend of hers. She wrote that, “I just had a strong feeling that the “voice” trying to form words stammering and stuttering, like a handicapped person, was in fact the brain injured young man I worked with for over 2 years–to talk and communicate.”
Brian Jones, WA, has discussed the possibility that he might actually be recording his thoughts. He sent us a sound track in which a person was speaking to him via his computer phone at the same time he was recording. He indicated that he thought the voice he recorded might have been generated by thoughts from that person.

You may want to test this idea for yourself by following the technique used by Jacque Blanc-Garin. It is an interesting idea, the possibility that we sometimes record the living as well as the departed. We are Self living in a physical body during this lifetime. When free of the encumbrance of our body, perhaps during sleep, we are very much the same as the discarnate entities we seek to communicate with. If this is true, then it is not much of a leap in logic to think we can impress messages on tape as well.

French Sleep Experiments

This article was originally printed in the Summer 2002 AA-EVP NewsJournal

Jacques Blanc-Garin of the French EVP/ITC group, Infinitude, provided us with a description of experiments to contact sleeping people via EVP. See more about Infinitude at www.infinitude.asso.fr. ©Jacques Blanc-Garin – All Rights Reserved

From 1994 to July 1995, Jacques conducted a series of experiments in which he tried to reach people while they were sleeping. A friend of his, Robert Doré, had suggested that it might be possible for a person to communicate through Tci (French term for ITC) with a sleeping person. (The following is a translation from French.) Jacques wrote, “My idea with these experiences is that we would be able to help people who are considered insane. It would be possible to contact them when they are sleeping and maybe record the entity who is disturbing them. However, I have not tried this because it is not easy to bring such an idea to hospital personnel.”

The following experiments were conducted with a Marrantz CP430 equipped with a micro Monacor ECM 600 ST or a Philips 6350 recorder. For ambient noises, Jacques used the sound of rubbing paper, German language conversation, and sometimes an air-band receiver.

Jacques writes that the results were conclusive almost every time. He also pointed out that, as a matter of ethics, each experiment was prearranged with the person who would be addressed while they slept.

Following, are samples of what was received during some of these experiments.

Excerpts from recording of Monique Simonet during sleep, April 7, 1995.

Jacques: “It is useless for me to explain to you how to make Tci. I believe that you are more expert than me in this domain and you will know how to use all vibrations that I can send you.”
Answer: “I would like to make it on the Earth” (very audible whisper).

Jacques: “I hope that I do not disturb your sleep.”
Answer: “It was foreseen, I will remember” (whisper).

Jacques: “If you answer me, you are maybe in the environment where I record. If that is it you can then tell me what I currently hold in my left hand?”
Answer: “It is a crystal” (whisper).

Jacques said that, “I indeed, had a crystal in my hand. Monique saw me!”

Excerpt from recording of Monique Laage during sleep, Nov. 8 1994.

Jacques: “I call this double astral body that should be theoretically able to answer me. Are you there, Monique if it pleases you?”
Answer: “I am in airs, Poupoune” (audible whisper).

(Editors: “Poupoune” is pet name given to Monique by her father.)

Excerpt November 10, 1995 recording Monique Laage.

Jacques: “When you go to the astral, do you meet other people?
Answer: “I see them all again, but I will come back, I like you, Monique who likes you” (uninterrupted, whisper).

Excerpt December 10, 1994 recording Monique Laage.

Jacques: “It is extraordinary that, in a little time, you are going to wake up and you are going to return to your body.”
Answer: “One is well, it is happiness here” (whisper).

(Editor’s note: We are spirit living in a physical body. It is logical that we should be able to leave messages via EVP just as those who do not have a physical body do. This should also make us think a little more about our adventures while asleep.)

Experiment – Recording the Living

This article was originally printed in the Summer 2001 AA-EVP NewsJournal

In April Sarah Estep participated with us in an experiment in which we tried to see if we could record messages from each other while asleep. This worked out well as Tom and I taped around 10 pm PST when Sarah was asleep. Sarah taped early in the morning while we were still sleeping. The experiment ran three separate evenings.

On one experiment Sarah said on the tape that Tom and Lisa were asleep right now. A loud voice says, “That’s right,” and then 16 counts later another class A message by the same male voice says, “I am.” During another experiment Sarah asks Tom Butler, “Are you here,” and got, “He’s here, we will try to get him back.” When Sarah asked for Lisa she got, “I’m here,” and then later, “Stop, the Lisa back.” This is interesting, as I woke up and remember looking at the clock. This was verified with Sarah as the time that she was recording.

During our experiments in trying to reach Sarah we recorded, “You have main contact,” and also, “Rain.” Interestingly, we later learned it had been raining at Sarah’s house. We asked, “Where are you Sarah?” The message came back “I am here.”

An interesting side note in all of this. Sarah also had a surprise visitor. During our running of these experiments Sonia Rinaldi, EVP researcher in Brazil, sent Sarah an Email. In it she told Sarah about a very vivid dream and wrote, “I could see you so clearly that I am sure that we really met. I was in your kitchen. … The fact is that I never remember any of my dreams.” Sonia was not aware of our experiments and yet she had this lucid dream on one of the nights that we were trying to reach Sarah via tape recorder.

An Unusual Form of Radiation has a Reproducible Effect in the Laboratory

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Robert A. Charman

(Published in Society for Psychical Research Paranormal Review, No 55 p 3-7, July 2010)

The Experiment

In 2008 Gronowicz et al. reported on an experiment demonstrating the positive effects of a form of radiation on human cells. This experiment was completely unlike the usual studies performed at the Departments of Surgery and Orthopaedics at the Connecticut Health Center, and the results challenge scientific assumptions as to how the world works.

The two-year-long study consisted of growing separate cultures of bone cells (osteoblasts), tendon cells (tenocytes), and fibroblasts (cells that synthesize the soft tissue matrix under the skin and are essential to wound healing) and plating out each type of cell into three experimental cultures. One culture was to receive radiation, one to act as the untreated control, and the other to receive sham-radiation. The question the experiment was designed to answer was whether those cells exposed to the radiation would be stimulated to proliferate more quickly during the experimental period than those in the control and sham radiated cultures. The plates were brought out of the incubator, ring clamped onto 15-inch-high stands mounted on the laboratory bench top, exposed, or not, to ten minutes of radiation on separate days over two weeks and returned to the incubator. Standard laboratory assays were performed at the end of the first week and second week to assess the rate of cell proliferation. This experimental procedure was repeated many times over many samples.

Results

The findings were clear cut. When compared, the proliferation rates for cells in cultures exposed to radiation were consistently and significantly greater than those in the control cultures and those exposed to sham radiation. The rates for the latter two groups were almost indistinguishable. Two exposures per week over two weeks were enough to stimulate a significant degree of proliferation, and increasing the frequency of exposure in some groups to four or five per week for two weeks increased cell proliferation to maximum response.

Discussion

ccatransc2010-biofield_intentionality The findings of this study from a reputable institution with a proven research record in investigating cellular reactions would be accepted without question if the cells had been irradiated by, say, infrared or red light, as absorption of such frequencies is known to increase the rate of cell metabolism and consequent cell proliferation. The study would be taken as providing further confirmation of many earlier laboratory studies and clinical trials on wound healing to that effect.

There are, therefore, no valid reasons to dismiss these findings when informed that the “radiation agent” under test was not the application of a known physical agent but the application of directed subjective intention across space by three registered nurses who had been trained in the healing technique known as Therapeutic Touch (TT). In this study, the practitioners first “centered” their minds into a healing mindset, held their hands four inches away from each culture plate on its 15-inch stand and directed positive intention for the good health of the cells in each culture for ten minutes per session. The sham healers, consisting of technicians from other departments, were taught to perform the same movements, but were not informed of the purpose of the experiment and had no knowledge of TT. They had to count backwards from 1000 during each ten-minute-long session to prevent any directed thought.

Follow-up studies are now in progress to determine which of the key cellular reactions involved in cell proliferation seem most responsive to TT. In their discussion, the authors refer to previous studies investigating cellular responses to directed healing intention. One study (Kiang et al., 2005) found increases in intracellular calcium ion concentrations, known to stimulate cell metabolic rates when exposed to ‘bioenergy induction’. A study using Reiki practitioners found increased survival and growth of heat-shocked bacterial cultures compared to controls (Rubik et al., 2006). Yu et al. (2003) found that cultures of PC3, a human prostate cancer cell line, showed a significantly decreased growth rate during 48 hours of sustained healing intention by a Buddhist Zen Master, compared to controls. In a review of studies assessing the effect of the application of “external qi” on cancer cell cultures derived from breast, liver, lung, and bone marrow, Chen (2004) found significant inhibition of cancer cell proliferation. Such findings imply that directed healing intention, under various belief systems including “bioenergies” or “external qi,” can have a measurable effect on cells and somehow stimulate healthy cells that would be involved in bodily repair and inhibit abnormal cancer cell activity.

In sum, this study provides strong confirmation of objective, measurable effects reported from many previous laboratory studies that have employed directed subjective intention on living systems. For example, those performed on mouse skin wound healing (Grad et al., 1961), salt-stressed seed germination (Grad, 1964), bacterial growth (Nash, 1984), plant growth (Sakani, 1989), salt-stressed seed germination and plant growth (Scofield & Hodges, 1991) and enzyme reaction rates (Smith, 1972), are particularly well known. Taking these seven experiments alone, if the agent being tested had been a recognized growth factor or enzyme reaction accelerator, the findings would have been accepted without question. (For critical reviews of the laboratory and clinical trial research literature, see Jonas and Crawford [2003] and Benor [2001].)

Clinical Implications

The positive findings from these laboratory studies lend strong support for Dossey’s (2000) argument that as healing intention has been shown to accelerate the rate of tissue healing, doctors should be trained to give healing from intake at accident and emergency wards onwards, in addition to giving orthodox medical care. If the concept of including healing intention in medical care was adopted, healers could become valuable members of NHS staff on economic grounds alone. These studies support the claim that directed healing intention is a therapeutic agent in its own right. This hypothesis could be tested by monitoring physiological changes in unconscious patients receiving healing compared to controls. These findings also imply that well-documented case histories and clinical trials demonstrating marked symptom relief and, in some cases, unexpectedly rapid tissue healing and/or apparent remission of the disease process itself after receiving healing, cannot be dismissed as attributable to placebo response only (see Jonas and Crawford [2003], Benor [2001] and Harvey [1983] for extended discussions of this). According to this hypothesis, when a patient attends a healer, any clinical improvement that would not otherwise have been expected may result from a combined, beneficial synergy of the direct effect of healing intention together with a placebo response. Regarding the latter, healers have noted repeatedly that outright skeptics who profess no belief in “faith healing” have responded well to it, much against their expectations (Manning, 1995).

The Problem for Science

The positive outcome of these laboratory studies places us in an acute dilemma, because in our present scientific understanding of how the world works we can offer no explanation for such an apparent cause and effect. In the view of orthodox science such findings cannot be due to any hypothesized effect of subjective intention, whether as “channellers” of “healing energy” or as generators of “bioenergy” or “external qi” energy, because the former belief can have no external effect, and evidence offered for the existence of the latter is hotly disputed because it is considered impossible in principle. Seto’s (1992) findings of a low-frequency magnetic field being emitted from the hands of healers during the healing mindset, but which is otherwise absent, needs replication. From the scientific viewpoint the most likely explanation must be that an undetected physical agent has been present in each case.

The physical sciences in general, and the neurosciences in particular, reject subjective intention as a causal agent of external effect for a very good reason. No such agent has ever been detected and no physiological mechanism for producing such an effect has been found. The eyes, for example, contain no mechanism by which they can project rays towards a target. The bioelectrical energies generated by brain activity, which are measured in microwatts at best, are so feeble that the very faint electromagnetic field permeating through the skull requires highly sensitive equipment for its detection. The outside world, as constructed by the visual and other brain processes that generate our visual experience, is an internal mental construct that is good enough to allow us to move about in, and bodily act upon, this perceived world. But that world, itself, has no “awareness” of our visual experiencing of it, and its observable behavior indicates that it remains indifferent to our awareness. Screaming with frustration at some DIY disaster or a valuable smashed vase does not psychically energize these physical components to re-assemble at our will. If we could do this then stone walls would not a prison make and the external world would become a chaotic conflict zone of competing intentions.

But, agreeing that this is so does not solve our dilemma. If, through gritted skeptical teeth, the findings of these laboratory studies are accepted as valid, then we have to accept that our present worldview of how things work, including ourselves, is incomplete. In fact, we know our understanding is incomplete because it cannot account for the existence of individual consciousness. Neurophysiology, based firmly upon the known physical properties of physics and chemistry, is a self-contained explanatory model that provides a remarkably complete account of how the physical brain works right down to the level of quantum chemistry – but it finds no trace of consciousness. The various branches of psychology provide insights into how our conscious and subconscious processes work, from abstract thought to social interactions and raw emotions, but it finds no trace of synaptic activity. Neither model needs to include reference to the other because neither predicates the other.

Through recent advances in neuroimaging, the crossover discipline of neuropsychology can say with increasing confidence that a mental activity of “A” depends upon normal functioning of brain area(s) “B,” and if brain area(s) “B” are injured then the mental activity “A” will be impaired. Neuropsychology finds brain function and mental function inseparable, but the bioelectrochemical processes of neuro-physiology remain obstinately physical and continue operating when consciousness is absent. Neuro-psychology provides ever more accurate evidence of brain-mind correlation without explanation.

Is There a Possible Solution?

LeShan (1974; 1976; 2009) argues strongly that if we accept the anecdotal, clinical, and laboratory-based evidence for the existence of telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis and healing, in other words the operation of a psi faculty, then we need to model a reality in which such a faculty exists and such events can occur. He has proposed that there are at least two realities. One is our everyday reality, based upon living in a physical world of space and time, separate bodies, mass, motion, gravity, action and reaction, etc., where cause and effect rules. In the explanatory framework of this reality, including the wider Einsteinian world of spacetime relativity and the speed of light as the limiting factor in the transfer of information, consciousness remains inexplicable and psi phenomena impossible. This reality, therefore, cannot be the only reality.

Based upon experiences described by healers, mediums and mystics, LeShan posits another reality which he has termed “Clairvoyant Reality.” This reality is experienced in an altered state of consciousness in which everyday separateness disappears into an experience of “oneness” with what was previously “the other.” It is in this reality that psi phenomena, such as telepathy and healing, occur. Even in everyday life, our consciousness may occasionally slip into this clairvoyant reality of oneness, especially when absorbed in something, whether meditation, music, a view, creating a piece of art, devising a scientific experiment, or during intellectual inquiry when a “eureka” moment of understanding occurs. Clairvoyant reality, however, takes consciousness as a given, which still leaves its existence in an apparently physical universe unexplained.

Many have now turned to the counter-intuitive properties of the quantum world for explanation (Penrose, 1996; Nadeau & Kafatos, 2001; Radin, 2006). This world does not include the concept of cause and effect but statistical probabilities that “X” or “Y” might occur. Particles can be in two places at once and exhibit properties of both particles and waves according to what the detector is designed to detect. Entangled particles remain in immediate contact, even if traveling away from each other at the speed of light towards either end of the universe. If the spin of one is reversed, then so is the spin of the other at the same instant. Distance, time, and the speed of light are not relevant factors in their relationship. Space is not an empty vacuum but full of restless quantum energy. In experiments collapsing the sum of unknowable quantum possibilities contained in what has been termed the probability wave, wavefunction superposition, or state vector, into a recognizable something in our world, the outcome depends upon what the detector is designed to detect, usually with properties of particles or waves. It has been proposed that the quantum world is the source of our conscious being because the hypothesized function of the brain is to act as a form of quantum detector that determines the collapse of the state vector into the qualia of conscious experience. A quantum property the other detectors are not designed to detect so it has remained unsuspected.

In this hypothesis, the matter-versus-mind argument is invalid because the mode of detection is the key. Psi in its various manifestations is a latent mental function derived from this source, which, like all abilities, some people can utilize more easily and effectively than others. If we accept LeShan’s argument, to enter into a mental state of clairvoyant reality may be the precondition that enables directed intentionality to exert a measurable effect on, for example, enzyme reaction rates, seed germination, plant growth, cellular proliferation and improved tissue healing, because it is acting where psi intention and these metabolic processes operate at quantum level. At present this is just speculation, but maybe it is pointing in the right direction for future exploration.

Whatever the answer, the psi effect of directed intention as demonstrated by this particular experiment exists. To deny this because we cannot account for it is just as illogical as to deny the existence of our own conscious experiencing because we cannot, as yet, provide a satisfactory account for it. These two major anomalies in our present understanding of the world are here to stay. One day they will be anomalies no more as a change of understanding takes them into the mainstream.

Robert Charman is a retired physical therapy lecturer whose specialities were neuro-rehabilitation and biophysics. The former gave him an enduring interest in the mind/brain problem and the latter an interest in the role of the currents and fields generated by cells and tissues. He was founder/chair of the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Energy Medicine (ACPEM), and is Chair of the Confederation of Healing Organisations, both UK organizations. He was editor of Complementary Therapies for Physical Therapists (2000); has published a review of EEG and fMRI evidence for direct brainmind-to-brainmind communication (J.Soc.Psych.Res download www.spr.ac.uk), and articles reviewing evidence for telepathy, remote viewing, psychokinesis, healing intention on living systems, and the mind/brain relationship. On the latter his position is that correlation should not be confused with explanation.

References

Benor, D. J. (2001). Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution. USA: Vision Publishing.

Chen, K. W. (2004). An analytic review of studies on measuring effects of external Qi in China. Journal of Alternative Therapies, 10, 38-50.

Dossey, L. (2000). Reinventing Medicine: Beyond Mind-Body to a New Era of Healing. San Francisco: Harper.

Grad, B. Cadoret, R. J. & Paul, G. (1961). The influence of an unorthodox method of treatment of wound healing in mice. International Journal of Parapsychology, 2, 5-19.

Grad, B. (1964). A telekinetic effect on plant growth: Experiments involving treatment of saline in stoppered bottles. International Journal of Parapsychology, 6, 473-498.

Grad, B. (1965) A telekinetic effect on yeast activity. Journal of Parapsychology 29: 285-286

Gronowicz, G. A. Jhaveri, A. & Clarke, L. W. Aronow. M. S. Smith, T. H. (2008) Therapeutic touch stimulates the proliferation of human cells in culture. JACM, 14(3), 233-239. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18370579 As of December 2010.

Harvey, D. (1983) The power to heal. UK: Aquarian Press.

Jonas, W. B. Crawford, C. C. (2003). Healing, Intention and Energy Medicine: Science, Research Methods and Clinical Implications. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone.

Kiang, J. G., Marotta, D. Wirkus, M. & Jonas, W. B. (2002). External bioenergy increases intracellular free calcium concentration and reduces cellular response to heat stress. Journal of Investigative Medicine, 50, 38-45.

LeShan, L. (1974). The medium, the mystic, and the physicist. NewYork: Viking Press.

LeShan, L. (1976). Alternate realities. Sheldon Press, London.

LeShan, L. (2009). A New Science of the Paranormal. Quest Books, Wheaten, Illinois.

Manning, M. (1995) No Faith Required. Norway: Eikstein Publications.

Nadeau, R. Kafatos, M. (2001) The Non-local Universe: The New Physics and Matters of Mind. OUP.

Nash, C. B. (1984) Test of psychokinetic control of bacterial growth. Journal of American Society for Psychical Research, 78, 145-152.

Penrose, R. (1996). Shadows of the Mind. OUP.

Radin, D. (2006). Entangled Minds: Extrasensory Experiences in a Quantum Reality. New York: Paraview Pocket Books.

Rubic, B., Brooks, A., & Schwartz, G. (2006). In vitro effects of Reiki treatment on bacterial cultures: Role of experimental context and practitioner well-being. Journal Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 12, 7-13.

Saklani, A. (1989). Psychokinesis effects on plant growth: further studies. In Henkel L. & Palmer J.(Eds.), Research in Parapsychology, pp. 37-41. Meutchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press.

Seto, A. Kusaka, C. & Nakazato, S. (1992). Detection of extraordinary large bio-magnetic field strength from human hand during external Qi emission. Acupuncture Electrotherapy Research, 17, 75-94.

Scofield, A. M. & Hodges, R. D. (1991). Demonstration of a healing effect in the laboratory using a simple plant model. JSPR, 57, 321-343.

Smith, M. (1972). Enzymes are activated by the laying on of hands. Human Dimensions, 1, 46-48.

Yu, T. Tsai, H. & Hwang, M. (2003). Suppressing tumour progression of in vitro prostate cancer cells by emitted psychosomatic power through Zen meditation. American Journal of Chinese Medicine, 31, 499-507.

White Noise, the Movie

07/ 201809/ 2016 by Tom Butler

“If what you know about EVP is based on movies like White Noise or from television, then everything you know about EVP is very wrong. Please read a few of the techniques articles on this website and leave your TV turned off.”

Tom Butler

whitenoiseaaevp — Michael Keaton, Deborah Kara Unger, Ian McNeice.

Here is a Synopsis of the Movie:

People have always searched for a way to communicate with the other side-fascinated, motivated, driven to find a way to connect with loved ones who have passed on.

Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) is the process through which the dead communicate with the living through household recording devices. These extraordinary recordings-captured by people all over the world, in their homes, with a simple tape or video recorder-seem to confirm what many of us have dared to believe: it is possible for the dead to communicate with us.

And all we have to do is listen.

Now, from Universal Pictures and Gold Circle Films comes the suspense thriller that explores this very-real, other-worldly communication-White Noise. Tapping into our deepest fears and most profound longings, White Noise forces us to reexamine the world in which we live and, in the process, question our most basic notions about life and death.

Michael Keaton plays successful architect Jonathan Rivers, whose peaceful existence is shattered by the unexplained disappearance and death of his wife, Linda (Chandra West). Jonathan is eventually contacted by a man (Ian McNeice), who claims to be receiving messages from Linda through EVP. At first skeptical, Jonathan then becomes convinced of the messages’ validity, and is soon obsessed with trying to contact her on his own. His further explorations into EVP and the accompanying supernatural messages unwittingly open a door to another world, allowing something uninvited into his life.

White Noise is directed by veteran television helmer Geoffrey Sax, written by Niall Johnson (The Big Swap), and produced by Paul Brooks (executive producer of My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and Shawn Williamson (House of the Dead).

Companion Video Included in the DVD:

Universal has decided to include companion material in the DVD release based on material gathered from the ATransC June 2005 conference and recording sessions conducted by us at two locations. We have seen preliminary versions of this material, and we can honestly say that EVP is represented in a favorable light. If you are interested in learning a little about the people who work with EVP, what motivates them and some of their successes, then make a point of renting the DVD and watching the companion material.

What We Would Like You to Know About White Noise

There is no doubt that the movie is a thriller. EVP is more or less accurately described when the Michael Keaton character uses an audio recorder in an effort to contact his deceased wife. However, the efforts to make contact quickly evolve into what we would describe as a form of video Instrumental TransCommunication or ITC. The Keaton Character spends a great deal of time recording audio/video white noise with a video tape recorder and then watching it intently while looking for evidence of contact with his wife.

As a thriller, the movie portrays EVP and Video ITC as if working with these phenomena is dangerous. Probably, the movie would be boring without the thrill of danger, but we must point out that it is not dangerous to use or work with these phenomena. The only danger we are aware of, and there are thousands of people working in this field, is the harm people might do to themselves if they fail to use good judgment.

It is our job, as Directors of the ATransC, to teach people about EVP and how it can be used to communicate with the Other Side. So, you can understand how grateful we were when Universal came to us and asked if we would be interested in telling the public the truth about EVP in exchange for helping them make “EVP” a household word. We had not expected a large movie studio to acknowledge the impact their movie might have on our field, nor be so willing to help set the record straight.

In the end, ATransC members and this movie will reach more people with news about EVP in 2005 than we could have dreamed of in the next twenty years at the rate we were going.

We are receiving letters and emails accusing us of being responsible for the very existence of the movie, White Noise.

Please note that the Association was invited to help Universal teach people about EVP. The Association was not involved in the production of the movie! Universal hoped to sell more tickets by making people aware of EVP. Since the Association is supposed to teach people about EVP, and since the movie was going to be released whether or not we helped, … well, it would be foolish of us not to participate. In turn, Universal has been extremely helpful in making sure the Association will not be forced out of service because of the increased interest in EVP.

A Special Note from Tom and Lisa Butler

The ATransC is not the only source of information about EVP in the USA or the rest of the world. We value the wisdom, knowledge and experience others have in this field and believe that it is important for the public to realize that EVP is a phenomenon studied and used around the world. Take this time of increased public awareness of EVP to teach and help others learn to use EVP. We are a community, and as citizens of the EVP community, we will seek opportunities to refer people to other national and community groups

Fox

01/ 202109/ 2007 by Darren Williams

Previously printed in the Spring 2007 AA-EVP NewsJournal

Recently, our little dog, Fox, passed away from cancer. We were absolutely devastated since we had an unusually strong bond with him. To us, he was a beloved family member of ten years whom we rescued from the SPCA. We’d heard about EVP many times before, although frankly, I was always somewhat skeptical about it. Let me say we’re both very level-headed people, with a strong interest in science and technology, but open-minded enough to accept that the paranormal is worth rational investigation. But we’re also very aware of the possibility of self-deception, particularly in highly emotive issues such as the passing of a loved one.

It was in this frame of mind that we decided to put EVP to the test. Having read about some research that seems to show pets using human-language phrases telepathically and this showing up on an EVP, we decided to try to speak to him directly. Frankly, I felt a bit uncomfortable doing it, and I guess we both worried that our grief was affecting our judgment. But to not try would have been hypocritical since we’d had many experiences with Fox while he was alive that seemed to show a telepathic link, as well as the fact that he could understand an amazing array of phrases.

I have to say we were not prepared for the response we’ve gotten. While some EVP are faint, others came through quite clearly, but most tellingly, they were direct responses to direct questions. In some cases, there seem to be responses from what I guess you’d call “guardians” of Fox, and others—and at this point, I know it’s difficult to believe—directly from Fox himself.

I realize that, to many, it’s absurd that Fox could “speak” to us. Of course, we don’t believe it’s literal speech, but some kind of psionic interaction. But then, many human beings are very arrogant about their place and role in the animal kingdom.

To be a bit more specific about the results:

In one case on a recording, Alex talks about Fox being neutered—a requirement of the SPCA before releasing him to us. In it, she says, “… and I hope that wasn’t too bad for you.” When we replayed the recording, instead of the word “bad” you hear “Terrible.” It sounds like her voice being manipulated because it becomes that of a young male voice, it goes up an octave. We believe that when he was neutered he was roughly treated; he had cuts and nicks all over him. This voice is startlingly clear and it sounds “superimposed”….
Where we think it’s Fox, phrases or words we used to say to him, and to which he would react and even act upon (to the amazement of friends), like “That’s terrible, Fox” (said playfully), “Not your fault”, appear on the EVP. It seems to be a young male voice, perhaps like a child, as you would expect it to be.
We’ve also picked up his very specific bark! … In one case, it sounds very much like Alex’s mobile phone ring tone, a recording we made of his bark. This EVP took place while Alex was at work. I called her on her mobile to tell her about it and since her work is quite a few kilometers away, I don’t think the mike picked it up! Perhaps this ringtone was “used” somehow?
In quite a few cases, a voice seems to talk over ours – we’ve often heard the word “Foxy” (we often called him that) on the recording as we’re speaking.

I’m fully aware that skeptics can easily dismiss this all as a fake or self-delusion. For some people, sadly, the attitude seems to be, “I wouldn’t believe this even if it were true.”

Recently Alex was doing an EVP where she mentioned the fact that I buried Fox in his favorite place in our garden. On playback, you hear a clear whisper that says “Candles.” Since Fox passed on, we’ve been putting candles around his grave at night, including floating candles in the birdbath, so it’s kind of a “fairy light” effect.　 We think that’s a reference to our nightly tribute. What it also is, for us, is the first direct evidence that Fox can see us as well as hear us.

In another experiment, Alex apologized for the way that Fox had been treated with his previous family ending with “I don’t know who they were…” Straight after her comments, a young voice says very clearly “The Millers” [Editor: name changed].

Disbelieving, we looked up the surname … and found that there was a Miller family living just up the road and a block away from the animal sanctuary where Fox was taken … with more research, we learned that the family left just prior to the time that Fox was found wandering on the street near the animal sanctuary.

This has been a life-changing experience. It’s not only enabled us to add further profound meaning to Fox’s life and death, but our fear of our own mortality has vastly receded … Imagine the amount of comfort it would bring the bereaved of the larger world population if only people could open their minds and put aside preconceptions.

For Alex and me, it’s even influenced our language, to speak of departed loved ones in the past tense no longer really makes sense; they haven’t vanished into oblivion. Alex’s sister lives in Scotland. She’s far away and we don’t get to speak as often as we’d like, but nobody thinks she’s ceased to exist.　 This is how we now also think of Fox, Tara (Alex’s previous dog) and Marion (Alex’s mom) – loved ones who are merely parted from us, and one day, when our work here is done, the parting will end. As the poet says, “Death, thou too shalt die….”

For Fox, not even his physical death could break his bond with us. And that thought is very moving and elevating – and it’s made us different – hopefully better – people than before.

The Electronic Voice Phenomena

College Research paper by Thomas Wingert

The Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) is generally defined as the manifestation of sensible remarks of seeming paranormal origin on sound recording media, such as reel-to-reel tapes, audio cassettes, video tapes and recently computers. The voices, also known as “tape voices,” are often reasonable messages replying to corresponding questions, and in many cases, the contents of the messages and the characteristics of the speaker suggest that the recordings are transmissions by the deceased. The origins of these mysterious voices, their purpose and how it is possible are a hypothesis, and have been unexplained since their discovery four decades ago. Since extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, scientists only give credence to a theory if it can be proven by replication during a controlled experiment. If replication is not possible, then the subject remains a hypothesis. However, the existence of recorded paranormal voices on cassette tapes is undeniable and cannot be disputed by any logical argument.

In the spring of 1959, in Moelnbo, Sweden, the opera singer and painter Friedrich Jüergenson made what could be considered the most important discovery in the history of human kind. His book, Voice Transmissions With The Deceased, details his accidental discovery during the recording of birdsongs. During replay he realized that voices were addressing him by name. After thinking his tape recorder was defective, he soon realized that an invisible intelligence was trying to establish contact with him, and the originators later identified themselves as the deceased (Jüergenson, 1964).

Jürgenson pursued this phenomenon over many years and collected thousands of these voices until he was sure of its authenticity. He presented his conclusions to the public in 1963, which unleashed a diverse reaction. Scientists and audio experts examined the voices and performed their own recordings with their sealed tapes. Some of them were also addressed by name and received brief messages in regard to some personal matters, which only they understood. The absence of fraud was acknowledged by all involved. The Swedish media followed with many reports about the voices because his discovery seemed to offer proof for the existence of an afterlife. This revelation attracted many respected scientists such as Dr. Konstantin Raudive from Latvia, for his experiments yielded similar results. He published his book Breakthrough in 1971. Jürgenson’s publication also captured the attention of Professor Hans Bender from the Institute of Parapsychology in Freiburg, Germany, who traveled to Sweden confirming the authenticity of this phenomenon.

Many people were encouraged by Jürgenson’s book to conduct their own experiments, and to pass their experience on to others, which resulted in several EVP associations, and a wealth of information available to the public. A German EVP association, the VTF, was founded in 1976, in Wiesbaden, Germany, implementing the idea of “gathering experimenters under one roof” (VTF World Wide Web). The association provides quarterly newsletters, conducts scheduled weekend seminars at several locations in Germany and a major annual conference in the city of Fulda. The knowledge of this phenomenon has reached the United States and other English speaking countries in the 1980’s, since then, many people are pursuing EVP enthusiastically. For example, the American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon, AAEVP, founded by Sarah Estep in 1982, is one of many American associations offering a wealth of information, including an e-mail list for members who share experience or discuss topics associated with this phenomenon. She published her book, Voices of Eternity, in 1988.

Recordings are conducted mostly by the use of a cassette recorder with a build-in microphone or preferably a separate microphone that is placed away from the recorder so it doesn’t record the vibrations of the motor, which is annoying when listening during maximum-volume replay. Evidence suggests that providing an energy source, i.e. “background noise,” aids the spirits in their attempt to communicate. A radio has been used as a background noise since EVP’s discovery; preferably it should be tuned to foreign news broadcast, which helps the experimenter hear messages received in English. However, objectivity is required, since English is a global language and may actually be part of the broadcast. In addition, the possibility of receiving a radio frequency from a radio station, passing airplane, police squad car, or taxi must be considered.

Many experimenters agree that a brand new cassette tape should be used to eliminate possible contamination of a previous recording, which is placed in the recorder, and the counter is set to “000”. Users are instructed to press “record” and start by stating their name, date and time, allowing each recording session to be identified later, followed by a greeting to the spirits, which is considered common courtesy. It is common practice to speak uninhibitedly with five to ten second pauses between statements or questions to allow for answers or comments. The pause is beneficial to the listener because it is difficult to hear the faint voices when they overlap one’s own voice. The duration of a recording session should be five to ten minutes, because the listening requires much time. A recording is ended by respectfully thanking the guests for attending and/or commenting. Finally, one should stop the recording, rewind and then listen.

It is generally emphasized that patience and perseverance are prerequisites for listening to the tape voices. This challenge can be most frustrating to an inexperienced person, who may be expecting results only a long distance telephone company can provide. Such demands are unreasonable, considering the subject; it seems a miracle to have any contact at all. Headphones that seal around the ear help to isolate distracting outside noises during listening, which requires practice and total concentration, since most voices are quiet and as if from a great distance. The focus necessary for listening can be compared to a football player who can tune out a stadium of 80,000 screaming spectators in order to hear the coach’s call out a play.

Some voices or messages are spoken rapidly or slow, whispered, sung, and very noticeably grammatically incorrect. The general hypothesis is that it is their way of proving the authenticity of the transmission, which could average approximately two seconds in duration. Since manifestations vary in quality, many have acknowledged a basic A, B, C classification. The definition of a class “A” voice is universally accepted and undisputed, because it must be understood by anyone with normal hearing and without being told or prompted what it says. They are rare, but a thrill when received. Class “B” voices are more common and usually audible to experienced persons who have learned the skill of listening or others after being told what to listen for. A class “C” voice is simply unintelligible, but may have paranormal characteristics, such as the rapid muffled double thump preceding a transmission, as if breaking through some barrier, or a mechanical sound that may be compared to an on/off switching. However, any sincere experimenter would apply objectivity and disregard it, since guessing is unaccepted. It is common for experimenters to mark their tapes and keep journals for reference.

Confirming an EVP manifestation is possible by using two identical tape recorders, one for recording and the other for playing the background source, such as a tape from a foreign audio book. For example, if a paranormal recording seems audible on the recorded tape, then one should listen to the background tape at the same spot on the tape counter, and see if there is a difference. It is this method that so far provides the best proof that a manifestation has occurred, and confirms the existence of EVP.

Yet the phenomenon is not officially recognized by most of the scientific community, because it seems that the laws of physics don’t quite apply to EVP, which may be impossible for a scientist to accept. Scientists are certainly able to control chemical reactions or experiments in physics, biology, and so on, but can they control human beings who have made the transition into the afterlife? It appears that the deceased are truly in control of any contact and only they decide if they want to talk or not.

Fortunately, this does not discourage some scientists in researching this phenomenon, for only scientific proof can be publicly accepted. Professor Imants Barušs from the Department of Psychology, Kings College, University of Western Ontario, published an article with the Journal of Scientific exploration, in which he details an experiment that resulted in the failure to replicate the electronic voice phenomenon. According to his article, he only found limited information on its history in parapsychology periodicals, various trade publications and newsletters in addition to an obvious absence of documentation about EVP in any mainstream English scientific journals (p355). Though his account of the experiment reflected a sincere attempt to replicate this EVP phenomenon; the experiment was flawed since it was based on very limited information that resulted in the implementation of basic mistakes in his procedures.

[Editor: See Failure to Replicate ITC for a discussion of Barušs report.]

For example, he did not conduct the experiment. Instead, two hired persons performed it that had no prior knowledge about the EVP phenomenon, consequently lacking basic awareness and listening skills so emphasized by many experimenters. Considering the experience of many involved with EVP, the duration of his recording sessions were excessive, leaving less valuable time for listening and unfortunately a waste of hard earned funding. One of his staff actually described hearing her name “Gail” called, and a female voice saying “Tell Peter”. She said that it sounded like a woman she knew that had recently died and whose husbands name is Peter; yet it was disregarded since Professor Barušs felt that it wasn’t strong enough (p363). Surprisingly, he mentions that no attempt was made to search the Internet [my emphasis] or to research foreign publications. His report consequently placed EVP in an unfavorable position. Perhaps if Professor Barušs read Jürgenson’s book, it would have provided him with much more insight to the matter and better fundamental information that could have influenced the outcome of his scientific experiment in favor of the phenomenon.

It is generally understood that even good research and preparation are not a guarantee for a successful recording. It may take several attempts, sometimes months, before a transmission has been recorded. This is puzzling, because evidence suggests that the deceased have amazing capabilities, including the ability to see us, answer a question before it is asked, manifest a recording in reverse or at different speeds, and they are multilingual. So why are many attempts unsuccessful? Why don’t they simply tell us how to improve the connection, such as constructing some ingenious electronic apparatus? No one knows. Perhaps their knowledge is limited and they don’t know, or they do, but prefer silence for a justifiable reason. One hypothesis may be answered by asking a question, “What would the global impact be if there were scientific proof of an existing afterlife?”

It seems reasonable to assume that the effects would be extremely diverse and not necessary positive. However, it is the class “A” voices that offer the best argument of the phenomenon’s authenticity, leaving no other logical choice but to recognize EVP as an unexplainable fact, and not a belief. The awareness seems to be steadily increasing on a global scale, for searching the World Wide Web with the keyword “electronic voice phenomenon” on AOL in June of 2002 resulted in 72900 hits. Apparently there is only one way to convince oneself of its existence, which is to do a recording by oneself, alone and with all possible interferences removed. If we as human beings understand this phenomenon or not, or accept its existence or not, it doesn’t matter, because all things considered, it seems EVP is here to stay.

Bibliography

Association TransCommunication (Formally AA-EVP). ATransC.org
Baruss, I. (2001). “Failure to Replicate EVP Phenomenon.” Journal of Scientific Exploration: Volume 15:3, Pp 355-367.
Bender, H. (1966) Parapsychologie: Entwicklung, Ergebnisse, Probleme. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
Bender, H. (1972). The Phenomena of Friedrich Juergenson: Journal of Paraphysics. 6,65-75. UK: Chatbum, vtf.de
Bender, H. (1973). Verborgene Wirklichkeit: Parapsychologie und Grenzengebiete der
Psychologie. Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter Verlag.
Estep, Sarah Wilson (1988). Voices of Eternity. New York: Faucett Gold Medal. (Out of Print use eBook)
Juergenson, F. (2001). Voice Transmissions with The Deceased. (T. Wingert & G. Wynne, Trans.) Friedrich Juergenson Foundation, Sweden (Original work published 1964)
Raudive, K. (1971). Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with The Dead. (N. Fowler, Trans.). Gerrards Cross, UK: Colin Smythe. (Original work published 1968)
Schaefer, H. (1978). Stimmen aus einer anderen Welt: Chronik und Technik der Freiburg i. Br.: Bauer Verlag.
VTF (Verein fuer Tonbandstimmen Forschung). Homepage, vtf.de

Continuing a Relation with the Deceased

A contemporary choice for coping with grief

Tragedy, such as the death of a loved one or dear friend, may often strike unsuspected and at the most inopportune timing. It can strike one personally or it can strike someone one cares about. Traditionally grieving persons were supposed to forget the deceased at all cost, but would find themselves pondering the unthinkable loss repeatedly, accompanied by constant crying spells that would leave them feeling wretched at best. Surprisingly, many bereaved actually are able to cope with their grief by using this method, some with the help of family or friends, and some do this alone. Only recently an alternative for coping with grief has been recognized, which is continuing a relation with the deceased that is observable in many forms (Lindstrom, 2002). There are very interesting contemporary ways, in which the bereaved cope with the reality of their lives, some so amazing and out of the ordinary, yet worth sincere open-minded consideration.

An American Heritage Dictionary may describe “grief” as “deep mental anguish”, such as mourning a loss and experiencing the distressful pain of bereavement. However, it seems reasonable to assume that such terms do not reflect the true scope of losing a loved one or dear friend, but merely resembles the tip of an iceberg with much weight beneath. It appears obvious that a bereaved person would find himself or herself at first in some state of confusion, and according to Parkes (1998), it is a time of numbness and anxiety. After the initial shock, contradicting emotions and feelings may surface, for example, guilt for not being able to do anything about it or anger towards the deceased vs. guilt for even feeling the anger, which all could lead to severe depression (Arnason, 2001).

C. Lindstrom (2002) states “…depression and other negative emotional reactions are indeed regarded as so normative that their absence is regarded as offensive.” Unfortunately, this view is not only shared by the general public, but by many trained professionals as well, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors and other members of the medical field (Lindstrom, 2002). This disappointing fact about depression is compounded, because generally most people will avoid contact with the grieving person because it seems human nature to seek out company that expresses positive emotions, while negative expressions in relationship to grief, i.e. distress, though understandable, tend to make people uncomfortable.

M. Parkes (1998) suggests that there are three main components of grieving. The initial numbness that can last days is considered the first phase. Intense anxiety is part of the second phase, including the feeling of yearning for the deceased. The grieving person may be engaged in normal functions, but they may experience loss of appetite and consequently weight. The third phase is disorganization and despair; for example, many bereaved report hallucinations and report seeing the deceased loved one (Parkes, 1998). Published reports confirm that it is very common for the bereaved to speak of feeling the presence of the deceased person, and as if they are watching.

Professional counseling is one of the first contemporary options in dealing with a loss. This profession has its roots in World War II, when soldiers were debriefed on the beaches of Normandy, but did not gain any recognition until only a few decades ago (Time, 1999). Since then, the “Association for Death Education and Counseling” trains and certifies grief counselors, who generally aim to downplay their own role as professionals, in order to emphasize the focus on the client, by listening in an open-minded and nonjudgmental manner to their client reconstructing the stories of their lives with the deceased. In addition to helping bereaved people cope with a loss, the counselors also help with accomplishing daily tasks, such as paying the bills, or discussing problems with their jobs or family matters (Anarson, 2001).

On the other hand, some scientists argue that counseling is producing the problem for which people are seeking counseling in the first place. According to an article in Time magazine (1999), George Bonanno, assistant professor of psychology at the Catholic University of America, who studied bereaved individuals for 25 months concluded that “Those who focused on their pain, either by talking about it or displaying it in their facial expressions, tended to have more trouble sleeping and maintaining everyday functions.”

Bertha G., a mother of four children, had tragically lost her son Ryan, only seventeen years old, in a car accident three years ago, and had kindly agreed to an interview to explain some habitual changes she had made that helped her cope with her loss. After her initial shock subsided, the relation with her son continued by openly displaying certain items in his memory, such as lighting a candle on Halloween and placing his favorite candy, Reese’s peanut butter cups, next to it. In addition, she always hangs a stocking at Christmas and places his pictures about for other family members to see. Bertha speaks often about Ryan by talking to other family members about the things he did. She especially talks to his younger brother who was 8 years old at the time of the fatal accident, which strengthens his memory about his older brother. At times she speaks to Ryan at his grave or simply communicates by a silent prayer.

Prayer is apparently a very common method in continuing a relation with a deceased loved one. Yet praying to a lost individual, limits the bereaved to contacting the deceased without any obvious reply. This may be satisfying for some, but not for others. Some people who so desperately wish contact with their loved one may look for other means of communication, and their attention could focus on the long controversial “paranormal.”

Some bereaved seek assistance by visiting so-called “Psychics”, who conduct séances with the person/s seeking contact with a deceased love one. Apparently a spirit communicates through the psychic person who is acting as the mediator, by speaking out loud and addressing the questions or comments of the people present. This method of continuing a relation may be gratifying, but could be very costly and questionable, since it does not offer any proof of authenticity. Unfortunately, it is generally known that desperate people may become victims of a skilled con artists’ deception.

A book published by Friedrich Jürgenson in 1964, titled Voice Transmissions with the Deceased, was the first to reveal the possibility to communicate with the deceased by the use of electronic devices (Jürgenson, 1964). The phenomenon described by Jürgenson is known in English speaking countries as the “Electronic Voice Phenomenon”, and has apparently become a preferred contemporary method for many bereaved persons to continue a relation with their deceased loved one or friend.

“Recordings are conducted mostly by the use of a cassette recorder with a build-in microphone or preferably a separate microphone that is placed away from the recorder so it doesn’t record the vibrations of the motor, which is annoying when listening during maximum-volume replay. Many experimenters agree that a brand new cassette tape should be used to eliminate possible contamination of a previous recording, which is placed in the recorder. Users are instructed to press “record” and start by stating their name, date and time, allowing each recording session to be identified later, followed by a greeting to the spirits, which is considered common courtesy. It is common practice to speak uninhibitedly with five to ten second pauses between statements or questions to allow for answers or comments. The pause is beneficial to the listener because it is difficult to hear the faint voices when they overlap one’s own voice. The duration of a recording session should be five to ten minutes, because the listening requires much time. A recording is ended by respectfully thanking the guests for attending and/or commenting. Finally, one should stop the recording, rewind and then listen (AA-EVP, World Wide Web).”

As simple and amazing the Electronic Voice Phenomenon (EVP) may seem, this particular approach of continuing a relation with a loved one may not be for everyone, which should be seriously considered before mentioning the EVP phenomenon to anyone who is in mourning. Many have the first instinct to say or do something to comfort the bereaved person, but unfortunately there are no etched-in-stone guidelines for such a delicate task, and the natural desire to help may be hindered by awkwardness, uncertainty, a loss of words, and how to approach the friend or family member without intruding on their terrible grief. In addition, one should be aware that bereaved people are considered “vulnerable” due to the strong complex emotions accompanying loss, and that any “cold contact” may be considered an invasion of privacy (R. Steeves, et. all 2001). However, expressing sympathy in a compassionate manner may even do the bereaved some good, which is most likely greatly appreciated.

A continued relation with the deceased may not be of interest to anyone either. “Each individual grief is “unique”, that each bereaved person will have different needs and different experiences and will do different things (Anarson, 2001)”. Some bereaved simply prefer the traditional method of mourning and coping with a loss, and chose to cut the ties with the deceased so they may move on in life, such as entering into another marriage. Other people may have firm religious beliefs that do not allow the EVP phenomenon to interfere with their lives, which is very interesting, since most world religions claim the existence of a life after death. According to the VTF, the Catholic Church is aware of EVP and supports the sincere research of the phenomenon (VTF, World Wide Web).

It seems appropriate to wait with presenting EVP as an alternative solution for coping with grief, until evidence suggests that the mention of such amazing fact will not bring about any negative reactions or consequences, since it is difficult to judge the emotional state of mind a bereaved person is in. The duration of grief may go on for more than one year, with the second year perhaps being the most challenging since many people in our society apparently feel that grief should be ended within 6-12 months (Davis, 2001). With this perception, the bereaved may choose to keep their pain concealed and prefer silence instead of speaking about it, which could compound the already negative effects of grief, and influence the mental and even physical health of the affected person. This is evident by an increase of heart decease deaths and suicide, and approximately 25% of grieving persons will experience clinical depression and anxiety within the first twelve months (Parkes, 1998). Yet, after some time has passed, and the bereaved person shows obvious strong signs of the desire to continue a relation with their lost loved one, then perhaps it may be justified to mention the existence of the Electronic Voice Phenomenon, which has helped many cope with their grief.

Jürgenson’s book provides a detailed account of his discovery and experience, and has had a global impact that has encouraged people world wide to conduct their own recordings, and to pass their experience on to others, which resulted in several EVP associations, and a wealth of information available to the public. The American Association of Electronic Voice Phenomenon, AA-EVP, founded by Sarah Estep in 1982, is one of many American associations offering detailed information, including an e-mail list for members who share experience or discuss topics associated with this phenomenon. She published her book, Voices of Eternity, in 1988.

Though many scientists are involved with the EVP phenomenon, it is not scientifically accepted, because it cannot be replicated at will by a controlled experiment such as an experiment in chemistry, biology and so on. Yet it has gained enough attention for some scientists to receive funding for the exploration of this phenomenon according to scientific standards. Professor Imants Barušs from the Department of Psychology, Kings College, University of Western Ontario, published an article with the Journal of Scientific Exploration, in which he details an experiment that resulted in the “failure” to replicate the electronic voice phenomenon (Baruss, 2001). One of his staff actually described hearing her name “Gail” called, and a female voice saying “Tell Peter”. She said that it sounded like a woman she knew that had recently died and whose husbands name is Peter; yet it was disregarded since Professor Baruss felt that it wasn’t strong enough (p363). Professor Baruss may not have recognized any success in replicating the “voices” by scientific expectations, but the existence of recorded paranormal voices on cassette tapes is undeniable and cannot be disputed by any logical argument. It seems that his results demonstrate that the deceased do not act upon any universal laws of physics, and are truly in control of any contact with the living.

With some patience and perseverance that is strongly emphasized by all involved with EVP, successful recording sessions seem only a matter of time that for many has resulted in easing a grieving heart by bridging the abyss of a devastating loss.

References

Arnason, A (2001). Experts of the Ordinary: Bereavement Counseling in Britain. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute: Volume 7:2, p299.
American Association Electronic Voice Phenomenon. Homepage. atransc.org
Barušs, Imants. (2001). “Failure to Replicate EVP.” Journal of Scientific Exploration: Volume 15:3, Pp 355-367. Also see: An Experimental Test of I nstrumental Transcommunication
Davis, G.F. (2001). Loss and the Duration of Grief. JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association: Volume 285:9, p1152.
Estep, S.W. (1988). Voices of Eternity. New York: Faucett Gold Medal.
G., Bertha. Personal interview. 3 rd November 2002.
Juergenson, F. (2001). Voice Transmissions with The Deceased. (T. Wingert & G. Wynne, Trans.) Friedrich Juergenson Foundation, Sweden (Original work published 1964)
Lindstrom, T.C. (2002). “It ain’t necessarily so”…challenging mainstream thinking about bereavement. Family and Community Health: Volume 25:1, p11(11).
Margolis, O.S., Raether, H.C., Kutscher, A.H., Powers, J.B., Seeland, I.B., DeBellis, R., Cherico, D.J. (1981). Acute Grief: Counseling the Bereaved. New York: Columbia University Press.
Parkes, C.M. (1998). Bereavement in Adult Life. British Medical Journal: Volume 316, n7134, p856(4).
Raudive, K. (1971). Breakthrough: An Amazing Experiment in Electronic Communication with The Dead. (N. Fowler, Trans.). Gerrards Cross, UK: Colin Smythe. (Original work published 1968)
Steeves, R., Kahn, D., Ropka, M.E., Wise, C. (2001). Ethical Considerations in Research with Bereaved Families. Family and Community Health: Volume 23:4, p75(9).
Verein fuer Tonbandstimmen Forschung. Homepage. Retrieved October 2002 from World Wide Web: vtf.de (Click on “English” to view translation)

4Cell EVP Demonstration

05/ 202109/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

(Based on a Summer 2005 AA-EVP NewsJournal article) Updated May 2015

Abstract

Can discarnate personality communicate with people in different parts of the world by hearing (sensing) a question from one person, ascertain the correct answer and deliver that answer to someone else in a different part of the world? A series of EVP sessions based on a specific protocol were conducted by four person teams. Coordination was via email and discussion board, and team members were in different parts of the USA. A person functioning as Requester thought of a question and told the question but not the answer to a person functioning as the Sender. The Sender communed in some way with his or her etheric communicators, asking them to tell the Receiver the correct answer via an EVP message. Once notified that a question had been sent, but not the question or answer. The Receiver conducted an EVP session to ask for the answer. A fourth person acting as the Scribe evaluated the resulting recordings for possible EVP and made first determination of what was said, if anything. The study indicated that it is possible to use EVP to gather information, but that there are limits to the kind of information that may be accessed.

Directors of the ATransC (formally the AA-EVP) had been looking for an effective has been in finding a way to make the recording of the phenomenal voices more reliable. There has also been a problem with practitioner ability, which varies considerably amongst people willing to participate in such studies.

One initiative to increase our understanding that has proven to be very effective is the 4Cell EVP Demonstration, which was conducted by association members and tracked in the Idea Exchange. The 4Cell project is designed to function as a test bed in which new ideas can be tried and the limits of EVP can be explored. As the 4Cell demonstration matured with more cells and more experiments on record, we anticipated being able to provide solid support for the existence of EVP, and the fact that EVP may be evidence of personal survival. Further, we expect this proof to be in a form that the scientific community will be able to accept, and therefore, feel obliged to repeat the experiments.

The Idea Exchange has been converted to “Read Only” due to lack of participation.
Please contact us if you have questions.

The 4Cell EVP Demonstration protocol is explained here. As always, we are available to assist researchers in setting up Cells to meet their research goals.

It is possible to apply this protocol to mediumship studies as well.

Protocol

Each cell consists of four people:

A Requester who thinks of a request to be given to cooperating etheric communicators. A request may be a question, such as, “Who was my favorite teacher,” or a request for action, such as, “Please tell the Receiver what I am wearing now.” The request should be of interest to the Requester. The request can be directed at a research question, such as, “What happens after the moment of physical death?” The Requester tells the Sender the request but not the expected response.
A Sender who is given the request and then conveys it to his or her etheric communicators, asking that they send the requested information to the Receiver. This may be accomplished in any way the Sender feels will work. Part of the objective here is to allow the participant to invent a way that “seems” right. Since so much of this is intuitive, personal initiative may be more effective than constraining rules. If there is doubt as to how to proceed, we advise that the Sender meditates or contemplates on the question. The idea is to send the message psychically, but to also send it verbally and maybe even in writing. All are effective techniques for EVP, as all helps focus attention. The Sender then notifies the Receiver that a request has been sent.
A Receiver who conducts an EVP session (or contemplates/meditates for mental mediumship), asking to receive the response to the request. There may be many receiving sessions and they may be designed to suit the Receiver. To maintain focus, the Receiver should be the only one conducting a receiving session for any particular cycle. If the Receiver thinks EVP are in the resulting recording, the sound files are sent to the Scribe. (Mediumistic messages should be prescreened by the Receiver for a sense of meaningfulness.)
A Scribe who accepts what was received, if anything, from the Receiver and makes a first determination as to what is said. The Scribe then asks the Requester for the request and privately posts the request and possible responses to the other three members of the Cell. The results of collaboration amongst Cell members is documented in a standardized report. For ATransC sponsored Cells, the report is posted on the Idea Exchange for peer review.
Other board participants are then asked to consider the offered response by functioning as a listening panel. The Cell’s determination of what is said remains as The Report, but comments from others are retained as a record of possible alternative considerations (peer review).

Cell members have been asked to rotate positions, but we have found that it is more important that the cell has some degree of recording success so we are now asking that each Cell has at least one experienced experimenter with some level of confidence that at least some messages will be recorded. The Cells were also asked to record on a regular, weekly basis but now we see that there are too many normal living interruptions. It is better that the group tries to record when possible, perhaps on a monthly schedule.

It is important that some recording schedule is maintained, otherwise, the normally geographically distributed group of people tends to lose focus resulting in eventual abandonment of the study.

Once an effective Receiver has been found and the Cell has had some initial success, rotating members into the Receiver position will help develop more overall ability of the group.

Considerations

In the event that one of the four members is temporarily not able to participate, the functions of Receiver and Scribe can be combined. But separation between the Requester and the Sender is required to address the possibility that the Requester is asking something that is emotionally biased. This also separates the expected response from the send/receive process. The reason the Scribe is asked to independently decide whether or not the request has been correctly responded to is to see if he or she is able to arrive at that conclusion without the influence of group-think unconsciously guided by the Requester.

The protocol does not require a specific type of question or technique for obtaining the answer. The reason for this is that the group dynamics are as much part of the research question as are the resulting answer. One of the predictions from this protocol is that a cooperating group will have better results than one that experiences internal conflict. The concept is that the rapport of mutual cooperation builds the kind of contact field thought to be necessary for trans-etheric influences.

The flexibility of the protocol is in the fact that the Receiver can use EVP, automatic writing, mental mediumship, any form of transcommunication. If EVP is not used, then the Listening Panel can be referred to as something like a Witness Panel.

Evaluating Results

Since Cell members are usually scattered around the country, it is unrealistic to attempt physically supervising the experimental cycles: so many experiments by many different Cells over many months should provide sufficient information to assess the validity of the concept, even though individual results should be judged on a case by case basis.

Responses are seldom going to be decisively correct and many requests will require a subjective response. For instance, A possible answer to “Please recite Mary Had a Little Lamb” might be a verbatim recital, but more likely would be more arcane such as Lamb chops, Happy Mary, or baby sheep. As such, the determination as to whether or not the answer is correct must be made on a scale of reasonableness and the unlikeliest of the results. This is why the first decision is independently made by one person and that decision is preserved in the record.

After the Scribe sends the first determination to the other Cell members, the group collaborates to accept, modify or completely change that first determination. The results of this process are also reported.

Finally, the use of an independent Witness or Listening Panel of less invested people helps to avoid group-think. This final review of what the Receiver reported is most effective if one of the Witness Panel acts as a Judge to sort out potentially divergent opinions.

The three versions of the transcommunication: Initial determination by the Scribe; Cell member’s group determination; and, the version selected by the Judge are retained in the report record. Confidence in the usefulness of the answer is based on this report.

Results

At first, the effectiveness of the protocol was unknown; however, early Cell reports made it clear that the communicating entities were happy to participate and that they could do all that we asked.

4Cell 1 – Voices: Andrea Carr, Siobhan McBride, Karen Mossey and Sue Mousseau (James Jones replaced Sue in experiment four and then the group dissolved):

Experiment 1 question: “Does it take more of your energy to manifest a Class A EVP, and if so, please indicate your answer as ‘More energy’ or ‘No difference.’” Class B answer: “No difference.”
Experiment 2 question: “From what level in the Afterlife are you communicating with us?” Class B answer: “Level six.”
Experiment 3 question: “What can we, as receivers on the physical level, do to help facilitate communication from you, the transmitters in the spiritual?” Class B+ answer: “Just open up the portal.”
Experiment 4 question: “What is the purpose of our communication with the other side? What is it we’re supposed to be doing in order to help them?” There was no appropriate response recorded.
Experiment 5 question: “Can anyone (any dead former human being) on the other side be involved in EVP messaging to us?” Class C answer: Four distinct utterances in same file, the second being “Perhaps.”
Experiment 6 question: “Is there a reason that some spirits do not come through for us? Why would that be?” Class B answer: “Stop moving” and “That’s right.” Class B- answer: “Yes … people.”

4Cell 2 –Infinite: Mary Jo Gran, Rheta Conley, Shelly Morrison and Vicki Talbott:

Experiment 1 question: “Can you tell me the name of Jim Robinson’s make believe sister?” Correct answer: “Sissy Sally.” Class B answer: “Sally’s the name.” (Other appropriate answers were also recorded.)
Experiment 2 question: “Who is the artist and what is the name of the painting hanging at the end of the entrance hallway in Vicki and Pete’s home?” Correct Answer: “Marc Chagall” and “The Lovers.” Class B answer: “Who painted it? … Chagall did.”
Experiment 3 question: “What Did Keith’s Grandpa Hallmark give him, and also, it has been lost. Can they tell us where it is?” Correct Answer: “Cue stick.” Class C answer: “A cue” and “Christy know right where it is.
Experiment 4 question: “What are the names of Jim’s Montessori School teachers?” Correct Answer: “Vivian” and “Rosmund.” Class B answer: “Vivian.” Class C answer in same file: “Rosmund.”
Experiment 5 question: “What is the most common sign that those in Spirit do to let us know you are near us or that you have been around?” Class C answer: Not clear.
Experiment 6 question: “What was the name of the tavern where I (Vicki) met my husband?” Correct answer: “The Waterfront.” Class B answer: “Has a view of the bay.” (below)

Cell Name: CellOctetic

Demo 3 Question: “What were some of your misconceptions about death and/or life on the other side?”

Answer: Vicki told us that, “Braden (her son) wanted us to know that the answer ‘Regrets’ was a very difficult one for him to give.” The order of the EVP that was most important to the study was: Class C “It’s just hard to answer this,” Followed directly by Class A “Regrets.” (below)

Vicki explained: “I think that he and his friends on the other side did not want to hurt their moms or frighten others—they discussed whether Braden could even say it. He knew I could handle it, but others might not be able to. The EVP came as you see it above. As I said, Braden wants us to know that this is an important part of our passing; our life review.”

Comment: Near Death Experience researchers appear to be in agreement that we do experience a life review, and that it is from the perspective of those with whom we have interacted during the lifetime. This review can be expected to be emotionally painful, but it is probably the foundation on which we build new spiritual understanding. The 4Cell results are amongst the very few we have seen indicating all is not heaven when we make our transition.

4Cell 2 –Infinite: Shell Morrison: “Review our lives” (below)

Shell was functioning as the Sender during a 4Cell EVP Demonstration experiment, but when the Receiver did not record an EVP that was appropriate to the question, “What happens when we die?” she asked Sell to record for answers. Shell recorded this response, which is an astoundingly clear Class A.

Summary

Of the first eighteen experiments, eleven or 61% were seen as successful. The etheric communicators have had a very large number of possible answers from which to choose. For instance, in Cell Infinity’s experiment 4, asking for Jim’s Montessori School Teachers, the expected answer was given as “Vivian” and “Rosmund.” How many first names are there in the western culture? There must be thousands. The odds of a person guessing the correct name must be about the same as winning the California Lottery. What are the odds of selecting the right name twice in the same EVP?

Guessing eleven appropriate answers out of eighteen attempts must be similar in difficulty to winning the California Lottery eleven out of eighteen tries. The results of the experiments would be astounding just because of how much the answers have exceeded what would be expected for guessing. Since we know that the communicators are intelligent, aware people, the gratifying part is not beating the odds, but how cooperative they have been.

We wish to thank all of the Cell members for their participation in the experiment. We especially thank Shelly Morrison and Vicki Talbott for moderating the Idea Exchange forum and for helping everyone get through the complicated protocol. And yes, a hearty thanks to their etheric partners who have been so willing to help us learn.

Big Circle Recording Sessions

12/ 202309/ 2016 by Tom and Lisa Butler

Updated 10-25-2015

Visit
Welcome to Eternity

And

Messages From The Big Circle

The two websites are maintained by some of the founding members of the Big Circle.

The Big Circle consists of our loved ones in the etheric along with their loved ones in the physical. The realization that this group existed in the etheric, and was trying to connect to their loved ones here in the physical world, prompted members of the Association to form a special group called “Big Circle – Bridge to the Afterlife,” which is now referred to simply as the “Big Circle.” This group is composed of bereaved parents, spouses, siblings and friends, whose mission is to build a channel between the physical and etheric aspects of reality–a Bridge to the Afterlife.

We do this by joining our intention together on the first and third Thursday of each month at 8:00 PM your local time. You are invited to join in, perhaps by inviting friends and family members to sit with you for a brief meditation to focus your attention on the loved one you wish to contact, and then recording for three-to-five minutes.

The Big Circle forum is is no longer supported. However some of the members have established website with a Big Circle focus. See:

Messages From The Big Circle
https://messagesfromthebigcircle.org/

Welcome to Eternity, Messages from the Big Circle and Beyond
https://welcometoeternity.com/

In effect, this is a worldwide group recording session. It is our belief that the combine intention to contact loved ones on this day produces more energy for communication than what can be managed individually. Even if we are not all recording at the same moment, we are all turning our attention to the same objective during the same day. This attention helps gather the energy necessary for communication, and that helps all of us. Remember, our time and distance are irrelevant to our etheric loved ones in the etheric.

Sidebar

While the Big Circle community began with members of the ATransC, it is not just an ATransC group. In fact, most of the original ATransC members who were active in the Big Circle have moved on. The Big Circle EVP below makes it clear that our friends on the other side who help with this work want to help all of us.

You do not need to join anything. Just record or simply meditate at the regular time to contact your loved one. If there is sufficient interest, we can open a Big Circle forum in the ATransC Idea Exchange so that you can share contacts and help one another understand that loved ones continue to be with us, even after their transition out of this lifetime.

The Idea Exchange has been converted to “Read Only” due to lack of participation.
Please contact us if you have questions.

We are often told to call on our friends in the Big Circle for help in this lifetime. An example of this can be heard in a recording Big Circle co-founder, Martha Copeland made while praying for help. In it, you can hear her daughter, Cathy, saying “Big Circle,” as if to tell her that the Big Circle will help.

From Martha, “The group energy will be there, and if you miss a recording session, try to do one when you can.” You may pick up a voice that belongs to another member’s loved one. Spirit may use someone else in the group as a channel to get their message across to their loved one in the physical world. “

Begin your recording session with a prayer of protection and then ask for assistance from the Big Circle Spirit Team to bring through your loved one, or the loved one of another member. You may want to have a picture of your loved one close by.

Any type of recorder can be used and it does not have to be expensive. Speaking so that your voice will be recorded, ask questions and then making sure to be quiet long enough for your loved one to answer back. We recommend ten or fifteen seconds. Think of your loved one and perhaps looking at a photograph if you have one. Record no longer than five minutes and end the session with a prayer of thanks and send healing energy throughout the universe. Then listen to your recording using headphones. There are instructions here.

A note about attaching EVP samples: save them as mp3 files, mono, Sample Rate = 11025. Try to reduce the sample to some of your voice and the EVP or just the EVP. This will make it easier for others to listen to them. There are instructions in the “Techniques” section of the web site.

c2004copeland_im_still_here_small_web — More about the beginning of the Big Circle in Martha’s *I’m Still Here.*

The name, “The Big Circle,” was first suggested by Martha Copeland’s daughter during a recording session. Martha’s daughter, Cathy, transitioned in December of 2001 and soon became an active communicator form the other side. You can hear some of her messages at ATransC.org. Martha and other members noticed that there seemed to be other voices accompanying their transitioned loved one’s voices on their recordings. It was during one such recording session that Martha was able to question Cathy about being with other people on the other side. Cathy responded to her question saying, “Yes, …The Big Circle” Since that time, other people residing in different parts of the world have also received, the message, “The Big Circle” during their recording sessions.

The Big Circle is much more than a grief support group, it involves a group of friends and loved ones on the other side that are connecting loved ones together in the physical world. Many support groups help individuals find other methods to deal with the intense grief accompanying the loss of a loved one. The Big Circle works to offer hope and to bring joy back into the lives of those who are adjusting to the loss of a loved one by teaching that who we really are, our personality, continues beyond physical death. The Big Circle teaches that it is possible to continue our relationship with loved ones across the veil with remembrance and communication through meditation, mediumship and transcommunication.

EVP Stories from the ATransC Big Circle

Stories told by people who have recorded the voice of their loved one using Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP). The Big Circle is a name given by Martha Copeland’s daughter, Cathy, for people in the physical and in the etheric who help one another in life. This is an Association TransCommunication (ATransC) project. Parts of these videos were provided by worlditc.org. Produced by Lisa Winther-Huston evpsessions.com, Music by Rhonda Legate: “Whispers in the Wind”

Children Together on the Other Side

11/ 202009/ 2016 by Lisa Butler

Originally published in the Spring 2003 AA-EVP NewsJournal

Martha Copeland and Karen Mossey know that not only are their children together on the other side but that their children are also responsible for the friendship that has formed between them. Karen told us that Martha had just lost Cathy, “I cried reading her Emails on the AA-EVP Egroup. I wanted to reach out to her and there was a driving force that I had to know about Cathy. It was stronger than just emailing each other; we began to talk, finding we shared so much in common. We found that our children were in fact very much alike.” Karen asked her son Rob to send her a dream. He did send a dream, but not to Karen. Instead, another of Karen’s friends, Judy, who did not know either Cathy or Rob, had a dream about Rob, as did Martha.

Martha’s daughter, Cathy, came to her in a dream and told her that she had a new friend named Rob and that he liked to fish all of the time. In her dreams, Martha had normally seen Cathy in a meadow near the ocean. However, with the news of Cathy’s new friend, Martha began seeing her in a log cabin. She just could not understand this, as Cathy was very much connected to the ocean in real life.

As Judy related her dream to Karen, “Karen, your son came to me in a dream last night. I have never met him but I know it was him.” Judy said that, in her dream, Karen and Judy were managing a small store with another friend. Karen and the friend had to leave the store and the minute that they did, Judy saw a bright flash of light and then Karen’s son, Rob, appeared with a young woman. Judy said that the girl was Rob’s girlfriend and she had blonde hair. (Cathy has blonde hair.) Rob told Judy, “Tell my mother I am happy and that I have found a new love.”

Karen wrote, “This was such a confirmation for Martha and I that Rob and Cathy would come through together to a stranger, my friend Judy, who did not know either one of them. Judy believes that I am still too fragile to receive Rob in person and that is why I needed to be taken out of the store and why the message had to come through her.”

Karen continued, “I immediately called Martha because she had just told me about her dream in which Rob and Cathy were in the fishing lodge and Rob was cooking fish. He was always cooking fish! Rob’s passion was fishing.” We learned that Rob’s head stone even has a picture of him fishing, with Karen and the rest of the family having a picnic. “Gone fishin” is etched in the Black Marble.

As even further proof, one night Karen called Martha and told her that she had remembered something. She had been given a little log cabin bird house when Rob died. She sent a picture of it to Martha and Martha immediately recognized it as the log cabin in her dreams.

Karen next began to have a repeated vision of Rob and Cathy dancing, which she felt that she needed to paint. Martha and Cathy loved dancing. Rob, on the other hand, was not very fond of dancing. A week later, Martha called Karen and said that she had another dream. Rob and Cathy were in the log cabin again. Rob was sitting with two of his friends. (Karen wrote that, “Ironically Rob had two very good friends, Brandon and John, who passed on before Rob—as with Cathy and Rob, because of auto accidents.”) In Martha’s dream, the boys were watching TV. Also in the dream, Cathy told Martha that Rob had sent the vision of them dancing to Karen to let her know that he is happy. Rob also told Cathy in the dream that, “My Mom is an awesome artist.” These are the exact words he used to tell Karen this, before his transition.

Martha told us, “I had another strange thing happen regarding Cathy with Karen. Karen had wanted to paint a picture of Cathy and Rob dancing. Cathy had a very nice wooden artist studio box that had been missing for some time and I wanted to give it to Karen.” Martha had repeatedly looked in Cathy’s room but the box was nowhere to be found. She wrote, “I kept hearing Cathy’s voice in my head telling me to look in her room. She seemed to be saying, ‘Mom look in my room one more time.’ When I did, I found the artist set placed in the middle of her bed. I guess Cathy wanted the box sent to Karen, too!

As most of our members know, Martha has been receiving many communications from Cathy via EVP. In Cathy’s picture, on the left, you will see a couple of Cathy’s pets on her shoulder. Martha wrote that her sister, Ginny, took the rat named Elanely after Cathy’s death. Martha, an animal lover, just was not that keen on rats, but Ginny has become very fond of Elanely. She feeds her snacks and gives her a kiss before going to work.

Recently, Ginny was using her daughter Rachel’s computer. Rachel was in the room studying for an exam. Ginny did a recording on the computer and then played it back using the Cool Edit software. Both could hear Cathy singing on the recording saying, “Elanely, I miss my rat, Elanely!”

Karen is also getting EVP messages about Rob but is not yet sure if the EVP are coming directly from him. Karen said, “One message lately was, ‘Robbie, you’re needed here,’ so somebody was talking to him.”

The two feel that their meeting has been a miracle that was set into motion and very much meant to be through their membership in the Association, and Cathy and Rob working together from the other side, to make it happen.

My Amazing Experience in a David Thompson Séance

11/ 202009/ 2016 by by Patti Chic

First published in the Summer 2012 ATransC NewsJournal

My life was about to change with new understanding. I was to sit in a materialization séance with David Thompson. David first explained what to expect in the séance and the precautions that would be in place. He and partner, circle leader, Christine Morgan also explained the reasons we were to be searched before the séance. As they explained, ectoplasm is used for the spirits to materialize and this can be dangerous for David if someone tries to touch a materialized being or if a light, like a flashlight, is turned on during a spirit materializing.

David told us where to sit; I was told that this is to balance the energy of the circle. We waited while the sitters were searched by two people that I knew did not know David. David put on his sweater, it was buttoned up and then zip tied closed. After he sat in his chair in the cabinet he was bound, secured with zip ties and gagged. The lights were turned off and the door was locked. A music CD was played and we were instructed to sing to the music until Christine instructed us to stop.

When William made his presence known to Christine, we were told to hold hands and not let go until told to do so. You could hear William walking around the room as he welcomed us and encouraged us to ask questions. You could hear his boots on the floor! His accent was old British (Victorian) but easy to understand. Many people asked questions, and after answering each sitter, William placed his hand or hands on their head and asked them what they felt like.

I have muscular dystrophy and asked about optic neuritis and if it would interfere with my seeing with my mind’s eye. William told me that this would not interfere with my psychic sight but also said that he would send Dr. Theobald Slavinski to look at me. William then came over to me and placed his hand on my head. It was very large and warm. I could feel his boot next to my toe and could tell it was a boot with a very stiff leather sole.

After William retreated into the cabinet, Dr. Slavinski materialized and asked where Patti was. I spoke and he approached and asked if I had glasses on and which eye. I told him I had taken them off and it was my right eye. He took my head into his hands and tilted my head back. His hands were smaller than William’s. He then asked if I would open my eye for him. I could feel him looking inside my eye and felt him tilt my head to see. He then told me that what he was going to do might hurt. He rubbed the area next to my eye, between my eye and my hairline and then made a pulling motion with his fingers like he was dislodging something. Then he bent my head forward to exam my neck and I could feel him touching my neck. He tilted my head up to his face to look. He rubbed the top of my head on the side and made the same fast pulling motion, again like he was dislodging something. He told me that I would have a headache but not to be concerned and that he was sorry if he hurt me. I thanked him very much. I could also feel his boots against my feet; hard leather soled.

Timmy then came in, playing with his toys. He first used the trumpet. We were told that he formed a rod out of ectoplasm and used it to maneuver the trumpet. It zoomed around the room and touched many people on their heads or parts of their bodies. He then had quite a bit of fun rapping on things with drumsticks. He rapped people with them and even stuck them in both of one person’s ears; in the total darkness and without hurting them. Next, he held his hand over a luminous plate in front of each sitter so that they could see his very small hand. Most people felt his touch, with these very small fingers. He explained he is 9 3/4 years old and passed in 1904.

The next person to come through was the father of one of the sitters. He went to her and she asked if he was her natural father or stepfather. He told her he was her natural father who passed when she was four. He asked if she had her mom’s jewelry box. The sitter said that her mother had several. He wanted her to have the jewelry box that he had given her mother. He also wanted her to have the medals that he received after WW2 and was quite insistent that she get them. He then dematerialized with a slurping sound as the ectoplasm returned to the booth. (After the séance, the sitter mentioned how she would not have wanted to hear from her stepfather as he had been abusive.)

We next heard a male voice coming out of the cabinet who asked for Patti. I knew immediately that it was my father. I told him to follow my voice. He took my head in his hands and kissed my cheek and put his cheek next to mine. I could feel his whiskers! My father had a very heavy beard, and if he went out at night, he would shave again. He thanked me for caring for him and told me how much he loved me. He also told me how proud he was of me and said that he is always near me and will try to help in a circle that I sit in. Again, he told me he loved me. I told him I loved him and what a great father he was. I then heard him back up and then heard the slurp of returning ectoplasm. I was crying with happy tears. His appearance took me back to when I was a small child sitting and rocking on his lap before bedtime. I again felt that unconditional love that only a parent can give. I didn’t want it to ever end.

Louie Armstrong and Quentin Crisp also made appearances. To be honest: I don’t remember too much after my dad appeared.

At the end, William reappeared and explained that our time was up. We all thanked him for coming and being with us. We were then told to sing while David returned to consciousness, and after a few minutes, I heard a very soft noise coming from the opposite side of the room. The door was then opened slightly, and in the light from the hallway, we could see David sitting in his chair, bound and gagged at the opposite side of room from the cabinet. His sweater was on backwards, still zip tied.

I slept so well that night. I knew my dad was there and I was safe. His birthday was the next day, February 21.

Editor’s Note about Mommy

Abstract

Introduction

EVP Formation

Transform EVP

EVP formed by random selection

EVP formed by speech synthesis

Physical processes in EVP formation

Sounds mistaken as EVP

Hearing what is expected

Ways EVP might be misreported

Abstract

Introduction

Transform EVP

Sources for a “Message” in Transform EVP

Transform EVP Summary

Opportunistic EVP

Opportunistic EVP Summary

Selective reporting of EVP

Techniques for Eliminating False Positives

Transform EVP

Radio-Frequency Contamination

Unnoticed Voices or Voice-Like Sounds in the Environment

Recorder Artifacts and Imagined EVP

Mistaken Results in Opportunistic EVP

Testing to Identify False Positives

References

Introduction

Physiognomic Analysis Performed on an Image Obtained through I. P. V. S.*

The Case Under Investigation

Description of the Case

Technical Steps in Making the Anthropometric Comparison

Conclusions

Bibliography

Report on the 2006 AA-EVP Conference

The Presentations

Abstract

Introduction

Listening Test

Results

Analysis

Theory

Hypnagogia

Audio Illusion

Passive Concentration

Apophenia and Pareidolia

Perceptual Order

Clairaudience

Listener Fatigue

Discussion

References

French Sleep Experiments

Excerpts from recording of Monique Simonet during sleep, April 7, 1995.

Excerpt from recording of Monique Laage during sleep, Nov. 8 1994.

Excerpt November 10, 1995 recording Monique Laage.

Excerpt December 10, 1994 recording Monique Laage.

Experiment – Recording the Living

The Experiment

Results

Discussion

Clinical Implications

The Problem for Science

Is There a Possible Solution?

References

Here is a Synopsis of the Movie:

Companion Video Included in the DVD:

What We Would Like You to Know About White Noise

A Special Note from Tom and Lisa Butler

References

Abstract

Protocol

Considerations

Evaluating Results

Results

Summary

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Sidebar

EVP Stories from the ATransC Big Circle

Physiognomic Analysis Performed on an
Image Obtained through I. P. V. S.*

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