Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Sanity’s Twin: Part 2, The Devil’s Door



It never ceases to amaze me how we find out about what we do.  It’s like some spirit from the other side just guides us to reveal a deeper connection and story then we would have ever guessed when exposing fraud and criminal activity.


I’ve had the privilege of knowing so many different souls out there and some very surprising people that would absolutely shock you to hear their stories.  I know better then most the truth that lays out there in the paranormal that boarders beyond the edge of reality to seemingly so strange and yet, so mysterious and fascinating that “seeing is believing”.  Yes, I’ve seen things myself and experienced amazing events and I have talked to some very credible people that have too.

But these people we expose, they are not really paranormal people.  They are people looking to use the paranormal and it’s community for their own agenda.  They are not truthful, make things up and you’ll often see them doing things that would point to some not so honest dealings.  Recently, We have found another, whom I wrote about last week.  Now, I’ve gotten a lot of heat for revealing this guy.  People think, I must be wrong and I’m being cruel and even unfair.  Let me just break down HOW we find these people and what we do.

These people have been coming out of the woodwork as attacking us and my network since getting on Christina George.  Now, the fact that they take such a personal interest in the story and often antagonize me by stalking and repeated obnoxious actions tells me something is up and my radar goes off.  I expose people, tick me off, I’m going to at the very least look to see who you are and if you really exist under that name you’re using on Facebook.  It’s what I do.  I make no apologies for it.  There is a reason why someone is really acting all huffy and it usually has something personal to do with it.

Now, when I investigate, I look at what people have out there that they themselves put out there. Frauds tend to be very inconsistent in their lies and they are easy to find.  I usually can find what they are doing, because, much of them tend to be selling something or bragging about themselves.  This is all public anyone can see it without signing into anything web sites and data.

David Rountree, well, he probably takes the cake for alerting me that he’s been up to something in his attacks and actions.  His arrogance is astounding alone and his many posts to people who he thinks are all stupid because they do not share his “scientific” but really often ludicrous way of thinking, has no problem chastising people and calling them dumb.  He seems to not understand a few things doing this.  First, if you call people stupid and act like you’re the only smart one, others will read that and think badly of you.  Secondly, people don’t like rude people period and usually that kind of remark backfires.

Now, what I and Darlene do is risky and we both do not really have any active team in the paranormal.  Anytime you expose frauds you will get slammed back.  It’s part of the process.  We are aware of this and it can destroy a reputation.  Because we care about the field so much, we take that risk and know it well.  We also are targets and get a lot of threats, whether legally or physical threats that include family to some degree and those we are associated with in groups, as friends or as supporters.  However, the fraud exposing is strictly Darlene and I.  The buck stops here folks.

So, as you see, the fact that David reacts this way and then aligns himself with those we have exposed, especially being that he was once a Paranormal Police member himself and is now aligning with one of the first fraudulent psychics that was uncovered many years ago, seems to say to me, there is a reason to truly check this guy out.  AND, we did.

He has on several websites different listings for his education.  In fact, it ranges from a Associate degree, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s Degree and then of course PHD, that he told people of the Paranormal Police back in 2007 or 8 that he had just received but, obviously didn’t.  Now, to top this off, the dates scatter back and forth as if he had a Masters and lost it and then only had Bachelors and on more educated sites where there may be PhD’s actually conversing on the site he put only his Associate degree behind his signature.  Now, why would anyone do this?  I think he needs to show what degree he really has once and for all.  There are many sites complaining he does not appear to have any understanding of true physics and doubt his expertise for his books or radio interviews.

It turns out that David was at the time he threw out his attacks on us, he was promoting events that Carol Malone was doing.  Now, Carol Malone injected herself into the stolen statue case and attempted to extort money from the owners of the statues when during a radio broadcast done by their own side, had Christina admitting she had the statues and that she had never given custody to Carol Malone or her lawyer as she had previously stated.  Meaning, Carol was lying and attempting to exhort money for an appraisal she could not have had done.

The events she is doing are indeed done with the same playbook Ryan Buell did for attempting to collect money 60 days prior.  Or as Buell did, postpone and then cancel the event. If they are doing this with that many days prior to an event means that the buyer may lose their money if they cancel the event and will have no recourse to collect their money due to Paypal policies and that of many credit cards.  Generally, venues are booked before tickets go on sale and that is the right way to do business.  Anything else is risky if the dates can not be locked down for the event at the venues, keeping in mind that the Tombstone event that takes place in 2015 has several venues on the same days.

Now, the rest of the bunch that seem to be posting with David are actually part of the Christina George following that seem to be sticking up for her, (she was previously mentioned as being a fake psychic who had stolen two ancient statues claiming they were demonic and involving John Zaffis name in the mix).  One of her biggest supporters being Lord Rick Rowe, who is a pot smoking, odd fellow that has a stalker web site of anyone he doesn’t like by the name of Theatrical Clowns whom has been stalking people since 2007 on there.  He has no problem threatening, lying, manufacturing evidence as well as harassing anyone that bother’s Christina.

There are several others that he has aligned with that appear to be connected in what they are doing. This is what we call the Paranormal Underground whose main purpose seems to be to shut us up any way they can so they can continue to scam, defraud and pilfer money out of the paranormal community.

Let me also make this clear, while some are connecting John Zaffis to certain alleged involvement with stolen articles, Darlene and I do not believe him to be involved any more then have been contacted by email and never having the items and know he actually has been in contact with the family who had the items stolen.  We have also been seeing some people attempting to say we are slamming John Zaffis or even other celebrities.  We tend to be very vocal in our oppositions and if you can’t see it readily like on this blog, it’s not something we are saying. I have no personal complaint with John Zaffis, though; I do like to tease about haunted objects.  That is not meant as a slam against John Zaffis by any means.  I’m just joking.  That’s just me and my sense of humor.

If you want to know more, read our other blogs, join or like our pages and stay tuned to The Eye on the Paranormal.

Click to enlarge






By Evan Jensen, Producer of Beyond the Edge of Reality Radio Network

Part 1 Sanity's Twin: Kissing Up to the Devil

http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2014/08/sanitys-twin-kissing-up-to-devil.html


Christina George Story with Carol Malone

http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-christina-george-story-as-web-spins.html


Rick Rowe and his Theatrical Clown site

http://eyeontheparanormal.blogspot.com/2014/08/smoking-toking-rick-rowe-profile-of.html


Facebook Pages

https://www.facebook.com/beyondtheedgeofrealitynetwork

https://www.facebook.com/paranormalbureauofinvestigation

https://www.facebook.com/beyondtheedgeofrealitydesigns

Web Pages

http://beyondtheedgeofreality.net

http://beyondthedgeofreality.com (currently under construction)


Blogs  (Watch for more information on these articles on our blogs.)

http://beyondtheedgeofreality.blogspot.com/

http://hauntedishpeming.blogspot.com/

Monday, September 1, 2014

Explaining ‘The Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’

Hamburg, Germany, 24 August 2014 - Emerging from his hotel into the sunlight falling through the trees, His Holiness the Dalai Lama took time to greet Tibetans and other well-wishers who had gathered to express their respect and support.

“Today there’ll be an explanation of the Buddhadharma according to the Nalanda tradition,” His Holiness began. “The Tibetan Buddhist tradition originated with the invitation to Tibet in the 8th century of the then leading scholar of Nalanda University, Shantarakshita, by the Tibetan Emperor, Trisong Detsen. Buddhism had been introduced to China some four centuries earlier, a tradition also linked to Nalanda by Hsuan Tsang who studied there with Dharmapala. The prevailing philosophical views belonged to the Mind Only and Middle Way Schools and whereas China predominantly followed Mind Only, Shantarakshita established the Middle Way view, the tradition following Nagarjuna, in Tibet.”

Describing himself as a minor student to the Nalanda tradition, His Holiness said he was happy to have the opportunity to discuss Shantideva’s ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’ and Thogme Sangpo’s ‘37 Practices of a Bodhisattva’. He pointed out the difficulty of explaining everything in four sessions, but encouraged his listeners to take the book away with them to read and study themselves.

He explained that Shantideva, who lived in the 8th century CE, composed two texts the ‘Compendium of Training’ and ‘Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life’, which complement each other. Shantideva followed the Consequentialist Middle Way view propounded by Chandrakirti that asserts that while things have no objective existence they nevertheless exist conventionally.

His Holiness paused to commend Kelsang Wangmo, a German nun assisting his German translator, Christof Spitz, as the first woman to be granted a Geshe-ma degree. Turning to the text, he read its title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, initiating a complex discussion of the word ‘bodhi’ or ‘chang-chub’, which is translated as enlightenment, but specifically refers to purifying or clearing away ignorance and to knowing. It implies that Buddhahood is attained by overcoming ignorance, clearing away the obstructions to knowledge by developing an understanding of emptiness, supported by the skilful means of bodhichitta. The Buddha made it clear that this is something we have to do for ourselves by following the path he revealed.

“Buddhas do not wash unwholesome deeds away with water,
Nor do they remove the sufferings of beings with their hands,
Neither do they transplant their own realization into others.
Teaching the truth of suchness they liberate (beings).”

His Holiness turned to Chapter Nine of the ‘Guide’, the wisdom chapter, saying that all the Buddha’s 84,000 teachings were taught in order that people could develop an understanding of reality such that they could purify their minds of all defilements. To overcome ignorance that is the basis of disturbing emotions like attachment we need to know things as they really are. His Holiness recalled the advice of American psychotherapist Aaron Beck that when we are angry or attached to something, about 90% of our anger or attachment is mental projection, a view that accords with Nagarjuna’s. We get caught up with how things appear to us instead of seeing them as they really are.

“Amongst human beings,” His Holiness remarked, “there are those who use their minds to investigate reality, who the text refers to as yogis, and those who simply follow their day to day lives. We could say that today, scientists are like yogis in that they attempt to see things as they really are. But even among yogis there are differences of understanding.”

His Holiness further commented that the different views of reality explained in Chapter Nine of the ‘Guide’ are complicated, but that analysing them is very helpful. The aim of such analysis is to uproot ignorance that is at the root of all disturbing emotions. He pointed out that it wasn’t until he was about 15 years old that he began to really take an interest in emptiness. In his 30s he really tried to study and put into practice what he understood.

“Only when you develop some understanding of emptiness do you become aware of the actual possibility of attaining Buddhahood. Although we all recite the verse for taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha and developing the awakening mind of bodhichitta, we generally don’t understand what it means. If you think closely about it, you can understand the process of transforming the mind into the mind of enlightenment.”

As the session broke for lunch, His Holiness advised:

“Ask yourself, who is this ‘I’ who eats lunch? Where is it? The ‘I’ is not the body and it isn’t the mind either. Where is it? Who is this hungry person? That way we can make lunch useful too.”

Meeting with members of the Tibet Centre Hamburg afterwards, His Holiness encouraged them to continue to make it a centre of learning, not only dedicated to Buddhism but to a wider knowledge of the workings of the mind. He mentioned the recent publication of a book in Tibetan containing science extracted from the Kangyur and Tengyur. He said that the English translation may be complete by the end of the year and requested the Centre to become involved in translating it into German. He also spoke to about 650 Tibetans resident in Europe. He noted that as refugees they have been in exile for 55 years. He praised the people in Tibet, whose spirit has remained unflinching despite the change of generations over the same period. He encouraged them to be careful to maintain Tibetans’ good reputation for gentleness and honesty.

Back in the Congress Centre hall His Holiness received and answered several questions from the audience, among them a request for guidance on choosing a spiritual teacher. His advice was to consult the list of qualifications for such a teacher described in the scriptures and to examine the prospective teacher to see whether he or she fulfilled them, a process that could even take years. He recommended making a commitment to a teacher only when you feel confident about him or her.

Returning to his survey of Chapter Nine of the ‘Guide’, he explained that ignorance is eliminated by the wisdom understanding emptiness because ignorance and wisdom, like light and dark, cannot coexist together. And ignorance is weaker not being supported by knowledge. His Holiness said:

“The ninth chapter is very important because it is on the basis of a genuine insight into emptiness that we develop a sense that liberation from suffering is possible and that the disturbing emotions can be eliminated. From that understanding arises the desire to achieve such liberation. Then, considering the predicament of sentient beings we develop the awakening mind of bodhichitta and the wish to serve them.”

He went on to stress that Buddhists should aspire to be 21st century Buddhists, understanding what the Buddha is and that the Dharma is the true path and true cessation.

Looking back to Chapter One of the ‘Guide’ he said it explains the awakening mind of bodhichitta, the ultimate wish to help other beings. It involves an aspiration to achieve enlightenment that is not just wishful thinking but is based on knowing that being of real help to other beings is possible.

His Holiness brought the day’s teachings to an end saying he would go through the process of formally generating bodhichitta tomorrow. He joked that going through the text this way is a bit like an elderly person’s approach to food, picking only those bits that are easy to chew. He mentioned the short and long-term advantages of bodhichitta, including freedom from lower rebirth, achieving higher rebirth and ultimately enlightenment. But, he said, the corresponding process of transforming yourself takes time. He remembered when he used to garden in Dharamsala and because he wanted to see the flowers bloom soon he tried to encourage the process and in doing so damaged the seeds. He concluded:

“We need to give growth time.”

original link with photos http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/1160-explaining-the-guide-to-the-bodhisattvas-way-of-life

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Sleep Paralysis And Vivid Dreams Or Demonic Visitation? Part 2

Hello everyone. I pray you had a fantastic weekend and everyone you love is healthy. I'm writing more on this subject since the one I wrote last year just isn't enough to cover what I wanted. The amount of emails I get on the subject are in sane. This is really a topic people are researching and wanting more information about. This is just of course my humble opinion based on experience and research. I am a Biblical Demonologist and I believe Jesus Christ is the son of God so my opinions are all based on scripture as well. This topic can get pretty dicey so you are forewarned right now. Discussion of sexual content in graphic nature so please be advised ahead of time. I can't help it. I wish I could keep this more clean but I can't ladies and gentlemen. I suggest you do your own research on this. There are different types of demonology that is studied so you're going to run into different types of opinions on this. Be sure to respect everyone's views and encounters.

I found the following three posts among many others made by people who really feel they were sexually attacked during sleep paralysis by a sinister entity. They are sharing experiences and discussing possible answers. I found these at abovetopsecret.com...

"I think the most frightening one I've had was when I was dreaming I was standing outside of a barn. A male voice inside beckoned me to enter. I did so reluctantly. Inside was complete darkness. I awoke in my room paralyzed, and heard the same voice say rather menacingly "You should not have done that." and then proceeded to laugh until I managed to wriggle myself free and shoot up in bed."

"I have woken up with bruises after having very vivid sleep paralysis and hallucinations."

" I suffer from this all the time with the exception of one or two nights a week. I am convinced its demonic, not scientific. This is an example of these things existing, there is no scientific explanation. When will people realise that WE DO HAVE A SOUL. and that spirit beings can affect us at our most vunerable, when we are asleep is easy for them. They like to play with us, cause us distress, and ultimatly are after your Soul. Our soul is fighting with them. I know some people might disagree and probably think im mad. But my response is take a look at what the bible says about this."

I found the following comment on a general yahoo question:

"for me the pressure seems to become light when i say things like "Give me power god" If these things are only our imagination then i dont understand why do the pressure become much lighter when i use "God" in my imagination. There are times when I am not scared and want to go against it, however it seems useless unless i mention the word "God" in someway. which again makes me believe that this is not just things people call imagination/hullciantion etc..."

For those who do not know, sleep paralysis is when the brain awakens from Rem sleep but the body remains “asleep” (in paralysis). Sort of the reverse of sleep walking, which is when the body is ‘awake’ but the brain is asleep. You are are fully conscious but unable to move. This can last a few seconds or a few minutes. However, eye movements are still possible. Individuals experiencing this often feel extreme panic as they try to reestablish the connection between mind and it's connection. It can be very frightening. It seems so very real. It is a terrifying feeling being unable to move or speak. You can't even cry for help audibly. You are totally helpless it seems.

Incubus and Succubus are demons known for sexual pleasure and summoned for sexual pleasure and companionship. They are also known to be heavily focused on in Sleep Paralysis situations. They are found in different Mythology literature. My first blog on this last year goes into a tad more detail on mythology. A brief description...

Incubus:  An evil spirit that lies on persons in their sleep; especially one that has sexual intercourse with women while they are sleeping.

Succubus:  A demon assuming female form to have sexual intercourse with men in their sleep.

For me personally the false "wake ups" were terrifying! I was getting to a point where I could not establish whether I was really awake or was I really dreaming? My safety was at risk and I feel it still is at times. I was having a lot of sleep paralysis when my father was dying. I came home to help my mother and waking up daily fearing " was this the day I would find my father dead?" I believe the high stress levels I was dealing with going through that and all the sad emotions and then the depression and the anger and bitterness I had at that time in my life towards God was a recipe for being extremely vulnerable to demonic attacks. I do believe however, there is actual legitimate "Sleep Paralysis" and it can be organically explained. This is not always the case.

Many people experience "dark shadows, shadow people" during this as well. That is a completely other subject right there that I will discuss and go into further details another blog. This subject is extremely difficult to write about and try to keep it to where it's understandable for most people. I'm trying not to branch out on other different parts of this just yet because I feel that can cause more confusion when your first researching the subject. Some people are researching this out of curiosity and there's some people who are really going through this as we speak so I'm trying to keep it as simple as possible. This is not something that's easy for me to write about. I am certainly not a professional writer or blogger for that matter. It is also hard for me because I hate to dig up the memories and at the same time I wonder if discussing this is going to trigger my dreams! Lol. I am a little paranoid, that's how ground shaking and terrifying my experiences were. For me I'm convinced it was demonic attack.

I have seen and heard many people who were and WERE NOT believers in Christ post that they called for Jesus Christ and things would get better or that entity would go away. They wake up feeling safe. This makes me extremely happy to see how many people are realizing they can call for help and how much power is in the name Jesus Christ. Those things flee pretty quickly don't they? They cannot tolerate the name of Jesus and his Holy name. This is great news and when you can move past the fear you can control your dreams and call directly for Christ or his Angels. I have said this before many times that demons are terrified of God's Holy Angels.


 Written By Jennifer Lori Auld

Friday, August 29, 2014

Want Proof? Proof Given!

Evangelist Lynn McKenzie is on our staff, and she writes a daily blog of insights of her life and things going on around her. Not only is she a blogger, but an author of the book LOVE NEVER FAILS YOU ... (http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-McKenzie/e/B00MD2JZ3G/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0).

You can follow her daily blog at this link: http://www.lifewithlynnie.com


Many Ministers in our world take the calling by Jesus himself of “The Great Commission” seriously. Yes, we all should too. Many of us have life insurance policies set up for our loved ones to have monies after our death. Let me ask you, how much do you have invested in your life insurance policy? $50K, $500, $ million? All this money you spend on monthly payments to provide security for your loved ones is a great idea, but what is in it for you? Think about as you read the following blog of time, commitment, and what life insurance policy do you have for yourself? The answer to this will be revealed in one person’s life as you read on.

A few months ago, a fellow I knew named Mike, had wanted to see what it was like to worship at a Baptist church.  So, he came to our worship service, one Sunday. Afterwards, we had a pot-luck luncheon, and Mike joined us. During that time of fellowship and good food, many people came to speak with Mike.  Like my pastor, some friends, and our Bible study teacher, W.

W and Mike had quite a conversation.  W was previously a Muslim and converted many years ago. Mike was raised Catholic.  However, he had an experience with someone within the Catholic Church that turned him right off.  So, he decided that God didn't exist and decided to become an atheist.

Part of me wondered why Mike would want to see what it was like to worship at a Baptist church.  Of course, he had never before been with a Baptist church family. However, I wondered if possibly God was leading him back to Christianity.

Just so you know, Mike and I did not have a relationship of any kind, other than just being friends.  In the spring, he got angry with me for talking about God, and our differences in thinking made him not speak with me for a while. You may recall reading that I had a van problem a while back.  And, a fellow showed up to drive my daughter B and I to her vehicle.  That was Mike. After that, I heard from him off and on.  He was looking for information about being on dialysis.  His doctor told him he needed to have dialysis three (3) times a week.  Even so, it didn't begin.

About a week and a half ago, he called me and let me know he wanted me to list his house for sale.  I thanked him, but had to explain that although I absolutely am a licensed realtor and must pay all the fees associated with my licensing, I felt I was but not well enough to return to working. So, I mentioned that I had a friend who works for the same broker as I do.  L is someone I've known since I was first licensed in 1988. He agreed to meet with her, last Tuesday.  However, he wanted me there, also. Mike explained that since he's carrying around so much extra fluid in his body, that he was having trouble walking, and was continually out of breath.  He let me know his front door would be unlocked, and if he didn't answer the bell or knocking, it would probably be because he was having trouble on the staircase.

 I asked him repeatedly, if he let me take him to the hospital.  Even when we met with L, when she listed his house for sale. His answer was always... NO!  He wanted to wait until after he saw his heart specialist, which he was scheduled for the previous Friday. Ultimately Thursday evening, he called me.  During our conversation, he asked me if I would drive him to his heart specialist's appointment, the next morning.  I agreed to do this for him.

Friday morning, I called him just before I left home, and left a message letting him know I was on my way to pick him up.  Upon arrival, there was no answer. So, I took his mail out of his mailbox, and opened the door to enter his home.  After placing his mail on his kitchen table, I called out his name, over and over gain.  There was no reply. I exited the house, and called L, asking her to come over immediately.  She lives close by, but I could hear the water running, as she was in the shower.  Even so, she let me know she'd be there as soon as she could. Meanwhile, I saw a neighbor outside and asked him if he would go into the house with me to check on Mike.  I explained that although I was improving, I was still having trouble climbing multiple stairs and was weak after having that major surgery.  He agreed.

At the bottom of the staircase, we both called out Mike's name.  There was no answer. The fellow went up the stairs; I climbed only a few stairs.  From upstairs, he looked at me and said that Mike wasn't in any bedroom. But then, he saw Mike laying on the floor in the bathroom.  He couldn't tell if Mike was breathing, or not. I called 911. Fire and Rescue arrived before the Ambulance, and then the Police arrived. Questioning of both this fellow and I, happened repeatedly.  Then, each of us had to give a report that was taken in a police vehicle. Afterwards, the officer who took the report went into the house.  He came out and told us that Mike could not be resuscitated.  He was dead.

This was stressful and upsetting to me.  Not because we had some sort of relationship, because we did not!  We were just friends. My first thought was that Satan had truly had his way, with Mike.  Sigh... I wished that Mike had been in a relationship with Jesus Christ.  And, I silently wished that Satan had stayed out of Mike's life. Almost like what we read in Matthew 4:10, "Then saith Jesus unto him, get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."

I commented that knowing Mike had died, was upsetting to me, because of his relationship with God.  On the other hand, maybe I should say... lack, thereof. We discussed the situation, and I explained what Mike had told me, about his walking away from God, in the past. The officer remarked that Mike had been found lying on the floor, face down.  He commented that if Mike had laid there still alive, he would have had time to call out to God. That's when I said I had written about that issue recently on LwL (re: Robin Williams), and stated God told us in His Word, the Bible that whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved (Romans 10:13). The police officer speaking with us, was obviously Christian.  For this, I praised God. We agreed, that Mike may be in Hell.

Alternatively, he may be in Heaven... if he had cried out to our Lord, after he collapsed/fell. No one here on earth, knows.  Only God knows where Mike is, now.

Friend, I thank you for reading LwL.  And, I pray that you have a relationship with Our LORD, Jesus Christ. For instance, if you do, you are saved from spending eternity in Hell.  And, I will be able to one day meet you, in Heaven.
--

Pastor Stephen Piersall
God's Preservation Ministry Soul Care
http://gpmsc.org/
http://www.facebook.com/GodsPreservationMinistry
networkedblogs.com/blog/soul-care

Thursday, August 28, 2014

WANTED AND NEEDED....COMMON SENSE THINKING

By Reverend Mark Hunnemann

Last week we talked about the importance of critical thinking/logic, which is simply common sense stated differently. 

Arguments consist of two parts--premise/s (which are reasons given), and the conclusion itself. Premises/reasons are given to make the conclusion plausible. The art of critical thinking is to analyze carefully the premises we deem persuasive for the conclusion we hold..often fiercely.

Hey, we all make mistakes in reasoning, but surely we would desire to minimize their occurrence. However, what I like about logic is that it reveals when we are so wed to some position, that we close our ears and eyes to any evidence that may challenge our beloved belief. Surely that is a good thing!

With minimal comment, I want to list the top-few most frequent errors in logic (common sense) that WE commit re:a whole host of subjects, with special emphasis on biblical  interpretation and the paranormal. Soon, I will list fundamental rules of hermeneutics, which closely align with logic, and show even more clearly how to understand what the bible says re:the afterlife.

What I list, someone else may add thus and so. Thus is the nature of inductive logic.....

1. Though not a fallacy, when we are arguing our case, we must clarify our terms...define them carefully.

2. Ad Hominem Argument--Disputing a position or argument by attacking or criticizing its source.Talk radio hosts commit this frequently.

3. Straw Man--disputing a position by exaggerating it, misrepresenting it, or otherwise distorting it. Putting the worst possible spin on an opponents's ideas. For example, when my view is called "fundamentalist". that implies stupidity and lack of intelligence.

4. Hasty conclusion--also known as over-generalizing. A powerful anecdotal experience has misled many otherwise solid Christians.I have yet to meet anyone (exorcists, etc.) who has had an experience similar to what I had (I have to leave details ambiguous). The point being is that nobody has had a more powerful display of supernatural power, and the source IS DEMONIC. Don't drone on about what your read...I have seen and felt it..and it is demonic.Using bad analogies is another way of committing this fallacy.

5. Group think--when loyalty to a group values affects one's own judgment in ways that range from the amusing to the dangerous. I have written re: "Plausibility Structures" in which we seek safety in groups which make it easy for us to believe in commonly held, but not rationally defensed, beliefs.

6. Red Herring--this ia an attention span fallacy. Amused to death, as Postman said, we are now unable to follow a sustained logical argument, since we are addicted to constant stream of vivid images..This attention span fallacy works best on those who are unable to stay focused long enough to notice that the question answered was not the question asked. My son Jack is very good at spotting this.

7. Wishful thinking--this is basically a refusal to believe the truth.....known as "Ostrich fallacy." In prelude to my book, I pled with folks to avoid this fallacy. If conclusion is not in line with what they believe, then many will not even read differing opinion, no matter how serious the issue.

8. Argument from Popularity--if "everybody in their group  believes it, it must be true." My parents taught me to not follow the crowd. Just because an issue (e.g. residual energy) is universally accepted by paranormal community, does not prove it is right.


How does each one of these fallacies effect what you believe? Are you persuadable? "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."  No tonnage of anecdotal evidence--especially given Satan's deception--can compare with the clarity of God's Word. 

Think clearly for God's glory.....Mark

Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Sanity's Twin; Kissing up to the Devil



You know, you run into a lot of folks in the paranormal.  Most of them are fine and even if they exaggerate a ghost story, they are basically good law abiding people.  Sometimes, you run into some that are really bad and even down right evil.  The kind you know would be in jail if they got caught or at least serving community service for their decisions or perhaps others that should be locked in a mental hospital.  The other kind here are the ones that seem to be good, but, are not entirely and they cross the line into being supporters of those who are bad and they may even do things of an immoral nature and even against the law for the wrong reasons.  Aiding and abetting a criminal is usually thought of as a crime, especially in racketeering, fraud, and theft among other criminal charges.  So, it’s important to bring out the importance of the support network of these types of people that appear to be doing this, as there is a real risk of them being involved in something they didn’t realize they were involved in.

For some people, it’s a no brainer when other people are doing something stupid and crossing a line where it’s considered criminal behavior or unacceptable by social standards at least and behavior that is considered socially wrong.  For others, they tend to be ones that think that other’s behaviors do not affect them.  They do.  If you hang with a thief and your family and friends know it, they are likely to warn you, tell you not to bring this person around and even avoid you because of it.  It seems in the paranormal, people think that it’s some how different.  It’s not.  If you hang with immoral people that scam innocent people and steal items or money from others, (or any type of criminal behavior) it WILL reflect on you and it also shows your true character.  People will make assumptions about you by those who you befriend and especially by those you stick up for.

Now, on occasion I have friends that I’ll catch doing some criminal or immoral crap or actively supporting those that do.  Sometimes, they are friends of friends on Facebook.  One such person was friend of a friend who was David Rountree, a sound engineer from New Jersey and paranormal researcher/investigator.  He was a long time friend of Darlene’s from back in 2007 in her Paranormal Police days and a member of that group that did paranormal fraud exposing.  She actively supported him many times in the past and had with me a few times.  You see, he was a person I just did not like and didn't believe was on the up and up.  Sometimes, it’s just a hunch.  With him, he had been on my show before and I exposed him.  I’m not alone out there in how I feel.  David has a problem thinking he is far smarter then anyone else with his quantum theories and physics talk and tends to push his air of superiority off onto others rudely.  It appears for all his great superior intellect he only has 12 reviews on his book that is all about paranormal “technology”.  Intelligence is measured by how well you communicate with others more then how well you can pretend to rant about string theories and the mysteries of the universe.

I know at one point, David talked some crap about me to Darlene, because she told me so.  One thing about Darlene, she’s a very loyal friend and we are also fairly close.  You can’t get between me and her, it just won’t happen.  We think too much on the same page here.  So when David did this, it didn't sit to well with her for a while.  But, she refused to unfriend him.  I did tell her too… because she’s my friend and I didn't want her burnt and I usually do warn people.  Most never listen.

Billy, a tech guy for the radio show I do, made a video on his own of his cat and made it appear to float in the air.  Now, normally I just do not approve of people doing videos with an affect and then putting them out there allowing people to think it’s real.  He did a good enough job that the video went viral.  He did this as a test to see how people would react, especially his own team of paranormal researchers.  The guy is 23 and didn't really realize the response he would get from the paranormal world and it wasn't good.  However, the criticisms were predominately from people that were long time haters of me and there were a lot of people who believed the video until he let them know it was a test.

Now, one of the people that commented on Billy’s video was David Rountree who used the opportunity to slam Billy and attempted to link what Billy did on his own to me, my radio station and my co-host Darlene and use it to draw a conclusion that WE did this for attention.  Its old “they must be in it together” thinking like we all coordinate everything in sync with some ulterior sinister motive.  In reality, they know it isn't so and really do not care and use it to defame someone.  You will often see people doing this using flimsy excuses and off the wall conclusions that have more of a motive for their defaming comments then any real truth.

I hated to tell Darlene “I told you so.” But, it’s what happens that I have seen over and over.  People that have something to hide tend to oust themselves so many times with us we rarely have to go find them, they come to us this way.

At about the same time as this, David was promoting events of a certain person named Carol.  It turns out that Carol Malone featured formerly in The Eye on the Paranormal after injecting herself into a case of stolen property stolen by fake psychic Christina George while trying to convince the family they were demonic and also involves authorities, now appears to be also advertising and selling tickets to an event that she does not appear to have secured the venues first and to according to David Rountree’s post.  Carol appears to be saying people are being ripped off, but, she lays blame to someone else… but…

On closer inspection of the post it mentioned Haunted Entertainment. On the post for the event, it clearly has Carol Malone’s name on it and directions on how to get to the ticket site to purchase tickets.  This brings you to Carol Malone’s Event Brite ticket sales for her company Dark Side Entertainment.  Now the problem is, just as Ryan Buell’s events that were advertised and the venues never booked, these events (3 of them for Dark Side Entertainment) were asking for prepayment of 60 days before the event for tickets.  They also asked for a down payment of half of the VIP package.  ($350 and half is $175) This means, that people have no way to get refunds from Paypal or their credit cards if they cancel because more then 60 days will make them ineligible for refunds from them due to policies that Paypal and most credit cards have.  Not to mention stating a problem of selling tickets and people not getting refunds on the other person named on the poster by Carol Malone, who has already been mentioned in these blogs.  We are currently investigating this.

Please be aware of people selling tickets in advance of 60 days or more or asking for prepayment or deposits that happen way ahead of events and understand that if the event planner or management decides to cancel as they did with all the Ryan Buell events, you will have little recourse to get a refund of your money. Call the venues first and be sure they are indeed booked and paid for first before purchasing tickets. Personally, I would steer clear of the whole event.

As for David Rountree and his defense of Carol and promoting her event on his site and then later back talk about it behind Carol’s back while insulting Darlene yet again to her friend?  Well, he’ll have his own demons to deal with after this.

There is such a thing as integrity in this field and believe me, it is alive and well with many in the field that are yet great people.

If you want to know more about this article, check out the links below.

Click to enlarge images









By Evan Jensen, Producer and Owner of Beyond the Edge of Reality Radio Network

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Monday, August 25, 2014

Dalai Lama: 'Hope for the Best - Prepare for the Worst'

Interview by Matthias von Hein

On the sidelines of his visit to Hamburg, the Dalai Lama talked exclusively to DW about his optimism for Tibet, the situation in Iraq and Syria, and the growing number of Tibetan Buddhists in China.


DW: Your Holiness, China is becoming more powerful, both economically and politically. Beijing is also using its power to increasingly isolate you – the face of the struggle for meaningful Tibetan autonomy. What do you think: If China had been that powerful already in 1989, would you have been awarded the Nobel peace prize?

Dalai Lama: I have completely retired from my political responsibilities since 2011. The nature of your question is rather political. However, since you ask that question: Yes, the People's Republic of China is gaining more strength economically and militarily. But, in the meantime, we can see that a number of Chinese very much support our basic rights because we are not seeking independence.
We decided as early as 1974 that we are not seeking independence. We just try to seek those rights that are mentioned in the constitution. These should be implemented. That's our request. So, therefore, a number of Chinese intellectuals fully support us – including Liu Xiaobo (awarded the Nobel peace prize in 2010 and currently serving an 11 year prison sentence).
During the last four years we noticed about 1000 articles in Chinese, some written by Chinese inside China, some outside, which fully support our 'middle way' approach. They are very critical about their own government's policy. So this is not our criticism. It is criticism within the Chinese community.
On top of that, there is quite a large Buddhist population in China. About three or four years ago, a Chinese university carried out a survey about how many Buddhists there are in mainland China. They came up with a figure of more than 300 million. Many of these Buddhists are educated people. And nowadays more and more Chinese Buddhists really show interest in Tibetan Buddhism. Even a number of Chinese Communist Party members, officials, even high officials are showing interest in Tibetan Buddhism.
Then on the practical level: The Chinese government is very much concerned about the image of China. The military, the economy alone cannot make a constructive contribution to world affairs. The People's Republic of China needs moral authority, more respect, more trust from the outside world. And the Chinese people themselves are very much concerned about the image of China, too. Many Chinese told me, that even though their country has over 1.3 billion inhabitants, it is lacking moral authority or moral power.
But now, President Xi Jinping is seriously tackling corruption. And also recently during his visit in Europe, in Paris, Xi openly stated, that Buddhism has a very important role for Chinese culture. So Buddhists should take more responsibility. For me this is something very unusual: A communist leader publicly praising or making a positive remark about Buddhism. So things are changing.

But, your Holiness, do you see any improvements on the ground in Tibet?

Our struggle is the struggle between the power of the gun and the power of truth. In the short run, the power of the gun is much stronger, very decisive. But in the long run, the power of truth is much stronger. I believe that. Already there are some signs that Chinese leaders or intellectuals now raise questions whether the existing policy is really helpful in the long run to the interest of the People's Republic of China. So things are changing.
But, up to now, my impression is that the Chinese leadership is still thinking that the way to deal with ethnic minorities in Tibet or in Xinjiang is repression and investment. That is their twofold approach.
Investment is good. But at the same time they should be seriously concerned about the environment. The use of force is often counterproductive no matter how sincere the motivation is. Look at the Iraq crisis and President Bush. I know that his motivation was very good: Democracy in Iraq. But the method was wrong. So, unexpected consequences happened. In China there is basically a similar situation.
Talking about Iraq, this brings me to a question that is troubling a lot of people in Germany right now. It is the question of how to deal with the "Islamic State."

You are loved and respected the world over because your approach is dialogue and tolerance. But now in Germany we are debating whether Germany should supply weapons to the Kurds in Northern Iraq to fight the "Islamic State" – which would be a breach with former policies. What do you do if dialogue fails or if the other is not ready for dialogue?

I am student of Buddhist psychology. And I am also a firm believer in the law of causality. There are these unthinkable, sad events: The killings of human beings, mercilessly, including children, women. I believe this is the result of certain causes. The Iraq crisis: If the American policy in order to topple Saddam Hussein had been carried out in a more non-violent way, I think, the situation today would probably be a little better. I believe this unthinkable crisis in the beginning of the 21st century is the result of the mistakes of previous centuries.

So, what would be your advice?

Basically I say: It is much better and safer not to use violence. But now the reality is: So many people are suffering. If the world remains indifferent, that would be also immoral, too. The best thing would be to try to talk. If that fails, according to the reality, according to circumstances…That´s very difficult to judge.
Coming back to Tibet, you sounded very optimistic about the prospects of positive change in Tibet through the Chinese government side. So are you optimistic yourself to be able to visit Tibet, see Lhasa and the Potala?

Watching China for more than 60 years, I describe four eras: the Mao Zedong era, the Deng Xiaoping era, the Jiang Zemin era and the Hu Jintao era. Within these four eras a lot of changes happened. The Mao Zedong era put very much emphasis on ideology. Then the Deng Xiaoping era:
He considered the economy, the living standard to be more important than just the ideology. So he did not hesitate to follow a more market-oriented economy, or even capitalism. Then Jiang Zemin: He discovered that because of the new reality, the Communist Party was no longer a party of working class people. So he created the concept of the "Three Represents." Wealthier people and intellectuals were admitted into the party.

In the Mao Zedong era that would have been unthinkable. Then came the Hu Jintao era. Because of the growing gap between rich and poor he emphasized the promotion of the "Harmonious Society". So, the same party, confronted with a new reality had the ability to take some new initiatives, develop a new thinking.

When Hu Jintao announced the "Harmonious Society," I fully supported that. But ten years passed and I think as far as "harmony" is concerned, things worsened. The goal, the motivation was good. But the method? They used force. The Chinese government's budget for internal security is bigger than the defense budget. I think there are about 200 nations on this planet. But I don't think any nation's budget for internal security is bigger than the defense budget.

But Xi Jinping, his policy, his actions, seem more realistic. As Deng Xiaoping stated: "Seek truth from facts." I think the new leadership follows that advice: seeking truth from facts. The late Hu Yaobang (reform-minded, liberal Communist Party general secretary 1980 – 1987) followed that approach. President Xi Jinping seems to be in favor of that approach.

When Hu Yaobang visited Lhasa in the early 1980's, his public speeches and comments were very realistic. At that time, everybody developed great hope. I still believe, if Hu Yaobang had remained in power for a longer time, the Tibet issue would have already been solved. Xi Jinping seems to follow that same sort of more realistic approach. So there is some hope. In any way: It is better to remain with hope and in the meantime better prepare for the worst.
Thank you very much your Holiness.

The interview was conducted by Matthias von Hein.


original link and photos: http://www.dw.de/dalai-lama-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/a-17877704