Paranormal

Paranormal events are things that occur in the invisible realm. Our eyes only see things that absorb light in a very limited range of frequencies from red through violet. But, all frequencies from the ELF radio waves through gamma rays would present different colors if we were able to see them. I merely use this as an example to show the limitations we have as human beings to only rely on what we can see with our eyes or measure with an instrument.

From ghostly encounters and unexplained apparitions to encounters with strange creatures and mysterious disappearances, paranormal phenomena have been a source of fascination and fear for centuries. Many people are drawn to tales of haunted places, supernatural beings, and unexplained events that challenge our understanding of the world. Whether you’re a true believer or a skeptic, the allure of the paranormal remains a powerful force in popular culture and in the human imagination.

“It’s easier to fool people than it is to convince them that they have been fooled.”
– Mark Twain

What is a Skeptic? – by Dr. Michael Schermer

Parapsychology

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and experience.

Para-psychology, being a challenge for science, studies anomalies of behavior and experience, called paranormal experiences. Paranormal phenomena transcend the boundaries of time, space and force. Parapsychology is generally subdivided into two types:

Extrasensory Perception (ESP): the paracognitive, including clairvoyance, telekinesis, and precognition.
Psychokinesis (PK), telekinesis, or the paraphysical: movement of an object without the use of physical force or energy.

The ESP or paranormal experiences include i) telepathy or communication between two geographically separated persons, outside the range of sensory organs; ii) clairvoyance or knowledge of hidden objects or events occurring outside the physical reach of the person and iii) precognition or knowledge of future events that can not be predicted or inferred from the available information. Examples of PK would include poltergeist phenomenon and paranormal healing.

Superstitions

A superstition is any belief or behavior based upon one’s trust in luck or other irrational, unscientific, or supernatural forces. Often, it arises from ignorance, a misunderstanding of science or causality, a belief in fate or magic, or fear of that which is unknown. Humans (Homo Sapiens) are superstitious because we fear, because we feel powerless and because we hope.

“Superstition” – by Stevie Wonder

Homo Sapiens

No one likes feeling they have no control over what happens to them. Some people feel less in control than others. It may be their life’s circumstances or because they were raised to believe they can’t change their lives. Or even raised to believe there are invisible powers that can work for or against them. That’s what’s behind throwing coins in a fountain and making a wish on birthday candles. Even reasonable people do this because, “Why not?”, “What if?” and “It can’t hurt.”

Astrology

The origin of astrology? Long long ago, thousands of years ago, there lived a bunch of people. They gazed at the stars and they dazed at the shooting stars.

They thought, maybe, just maybe, there was someone up there talking to them. Writing on the sky, hidden in patterns, for them to decode and learn. The wise ones among them, caught a few patterns in delight.

The pattern of the sun, the pattern of the moon, the pattern of the stars, the patterns of motion and the constellation. They made the calendar, predicted the tides, estimated the harvest season, followed the stars in the sea and so forth. It helped, so it became the science of the day. Things moved in the sky but they always came back. Always. And they came in patterns. Just like how humans are born and die. Maybe, just maybe, the celestial alignment breathes the very same cycle of life? A few thought so anyway.

With a gripping delusion, they projected everything up high, to the sky: The joy, the suffering, the pain, the flood, the death, the birth, the entire human existence. And right there in the night, under the gazing stars and the moon, astrology was born. An ancient pattern matching scheme – a manual one. And, astrology thrived.

They started manually collecting the celestial alignment at birth data of all the kings, queens, royals, servants, saints, widows and witches. And, then they manually labelled it and looked for patterns. They checked if all royals had some celestial alignment in common and the same went for the poor as well as the misfortunate. Thus began the humongous scheme of pattern matching. Through years and years of data collection, pattern matching and model learning, they tuned their model and churned out the model that best fits their data. A chart was stuck to you upon birth. A lifeline that tells your destiny, your personality, your likes and your dislikes. The one that indicates everything, your everything – even your sex life.

To be honest, it’s an ingenious idea, and great efforts too.

“You know, I designed the Queen crest. I simply combined all the creatures that represent our star signs-and I don’t even believe in astrology.”
– Freddie Mercury

Who Was Nostradamus?

Nostradamus was a 16-century French astrologer and physician whose prophecies earned him fame both during and after his lifetime. He was born Michel de Nostradame on December 14 or 21, 1503, in the south of France in Saint-Remy-de-Provence. He was one of nine children born to Reyniere de St-Remy and her husband Jaume de Nostradame, a well-to-do grain dealer and part-time notary of Jewish descent. Nostradame’s grandfather, Guy Gassonet, had converted to Catholicism a half century earlier and changed the family name to Nostradame, in part to avoid persecution during the Inquisition.

Little is known of his childhood, but evidence indicates he was very intelligent as he quickly advanced through school. Early in his life, he was tutored by his maternal grandfather, Jean de St. Remy, who saw great intellect and potential in his grandson. During this time, young Nostradame was taught the rudiments of Latin, Greek, Hebrew and mathematics. It’s believed that his grandfather also introduced him to the ancient rites of Jewish tradition and the teachings of astrology, giving Nostradame his first exposure to the idea of the heavens and how they might drive human destiny.