WARNING WARNING WARNING. Normally I try to write my ramblings to have some sort of form and function. Not this time. Some things Ive been thinking about, and Im just going to air it out. No frills. Less fun. More reality. Id start at the beginning but thats not really the right place. The right place to start is as I was laying down for bed and started thinking of the usual problems. I imagined how silly it would look if I was looking from above myself. Just a tired guy thinking about all his problems. If I moved out of my own body and looked down on myself from a perspective where I could see the whole neighborhood, my problems would seem insignificant. The further up you travel, the smaller and smaller the problems seem. I drew a parallel with the world of the paranormal investigators. In the microcosm, the issues seem very important, paradrama, paracelebs, radio shows, YouTube shows, Facebook comments, fakers, twitter followers, silly equipment, your team, their team...on and on. Now as you draw back from this list, you start to see how really silly, inane, and pointless it really is. Ill use myself as an example. First, I was NOT chosen to be on tv because I am a good investigator, on the flip side, being on tv did not make me a good investigator. Am I a good investigator? I guess it depends on how you would even attempt to measure what a good investigator is. Is it who collects the most evidence? If so, then I dont suppose Im very good at all. I consider myself a good investigator because I over think everything in terms of investigating. Its paranormal. It is beyond normal. So, the amount of things to be considered is enormous. That being said, I have fallen into the same pits as many around me. I worried about what people think of me, what I think of those around me, being accused of this that and the other, etc etc. In the end, NONE of that has f*ck all to do with effective investigation. I guess I need to return to what we do it for. As I have said before, there are many reasons why people look for ghosts..To help others, to seek out scientific proof, to gain approval from their peers, to get a thrill. I am in no position to judge the pros/cons of why people do this. I would, however, throw out the following: 1. If your stated goal is to help people, is that really what you do? I will take the hit for this and say the majority of teams I have encountered who state that their mission is to help people are not being honest. Their real goal is evidence collection. They say they are out to help, but they really just want a great evp or an amazing video. How do they help people? The residents already know their place has strange goings-on. Yes, you gave more evidence, but now what? Do you have an effective plan for fixing the problem? Can you rid the home of the ghost? Appease the ghost? We, currently, can not prove ghosts exist, how they function, therfore how would we even set about fixing it? To be fair, I have encountered some teams who dispense good advice in terms of coping techniques and maybe thats the best we can do. 2. If your stated goal is to prove to the general scientific community, look at what you are doing. Wandering around in the dark with voice recorders, and full spectrum cameras will never prove anything to the general scientific community. It just wont. You can disagree with me, but Im still right. Ask David Rountree. If you really do want to accomplish this lofty goal, you will need a massive shift in methodology and equipment. To start simply, you can always try something new. How about incorporating a carbon dioxide meter in a locked off room. Just something new. There is so much room for new experiments, its mind-boggling. From there, you need to get into correct use of scientific method...and thats a whole new ball of wax! Some people do this for their peers approval. Lets be real here. For the most part, the better the evidence, the more people will accuse you of being a fake. Not to say there arent a lot of fakes out there because there are. I had a friend who told me that people who get into the paranormal field wind up much worse off. He believed they became nastier...more vicious...as the very things they were searching for exert their own influence on the investigator over time. I said that I believed its a bit of an extreme hobby that attracts some extreme people and thus we have the situation we have. Guess its a chicken or the egg scenario. I do know this, hang around this field long enough and you will see the worst in people. Former friends will become enemies and you will be embroiled in battles that will surely test your resolve and dedication to the field. Why do I do it? I want to know what ghosts are. Look, ghosts exist even if it may be only in the human mind. If you asked me what ghosts are 20 years ago, I bet i would have honestly said I dont know. Ask me again in twenty more years and, sadly, my response will probably be the same. Thats okay. Ive dedicated years of my life, thousands of dollars, and hours upon countless hours reading, thinking about, talking about, this field. Guess you could say Im in too deep to quit now. Where am I going with all this? Stop using your time/energy on the things that dont matter. Why did you get into the field? It probably wasnt to wage wars via Facebook comments. Want to know if ghosts are real? Look at what you do and improve it. Dont worry about what others think of you. You know who you are and why you do this. As always, Ill meet you in the darkness. - RobbD
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 09:11:28 +0000
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