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PUSHING BOUNDARIES
It is widely agreed upon by most of the paranormal community that there is much ground that needs to be covered before we can say we've established laws governing the supernatural. Such a term is, in itself, a misnomer as the phenomena we observe is not a break in nature, but a facet of it that we don't fully understand yet. That being said, it is important for us to not become stagnant in our pursuit of that greater understanding.
To assist in expanding the search, several experiments will be listed here. They are meant to turn current processes on their sides - to reset expectations and to re-evaluate the methods by which our standard investigations have settled upon.
"Dual Output Spirit Box Experiment"
REQUIREMENTS:
• 3 investigators
• 1 "spirit box" - any variant is acceptable, i.e.- Frank's Box, Shack hack, SB-7/11, Geo Box, etc
• 2 pairs of headphones
• 1 headphone splitter
• 2 pads and 2 pens
• 1 sheet of paper and a pen
• 1 flashlight
SET-UP:
Assign two investigators to be the "Listeners". Give each of them a pad and a pen. Their task will be to write down anything they hear coming across, taking care to be mindful of songs or DJ chatter. It can be argued either way whether or not those elements should be disregarded, but for the purposes of these instructions, they will be allowed. Each will listen to the same spirit box with separate pairs of headphones.
The third investigator will be the "Moderator" and should take the sheet of paper and write down ten questions to be asked. Make some of them control questions - questions that you know the answers to. Make others relevant to the location you're in. Also, feel free to throw in wild, random questions as well. When all ten questions have been established, the experiment may begin.
PROCESS:
1) Have the Listeners put on their headphones and engage the spirit box to the desired scan settings. This will vary by model, but can be tweaked to suit the investigators. Be sure that the Listeners cannot hear the Moderator.
2) Allow the Listeners a few moments to become accustomed to the noise and when they begin to write things down, the Moderator may begin asking the questions. They are to be asked aloud, with the intention that the spirits are to answer.
3) After the first question has been asked, allow time for the Listeners to write down transmissions heard. When the second question is about to be asked, the Moderator will use the flashlight to shine upon the pads to indicate a new question is about to be asked. Listeners will draw a line and continue writing below it so upon review, the investigators can match up the answers to the questions. A line is drawn each time the Moderator flashes the light and a new question is asked.
4) Continue until all questions have been asked. When finished, tap the Listeners - they may put their pens down and turn off the spirit box.
REVIEW:
1) The Moderator will reveal the questions one by one and the Listeners will read aloud their written responses to each one.
2) Written answers that match between investigators are circled. This means that both Listeners heard and interpreted a sound the same way. Different people are often skewed to hear the same sounds differently, so this is done to see how in tune each Listener is to each other.
3) Written answers that seem to directly answer the question asked are given a check mark next to them. An "X" is given if not.
Note: It is possible that answers to specific questions may fall into prior or later question brackets but it is important to not try and force these observations into definites.
4) Once all questions and responses have been read, examine the number of checks and x's. Compare experiences from each Listener as they wrote what they heard. Was it difficult? Did they feel they were being spoken to, or just eavesdropping on conversations? Was it totally random?
CONCLUSIONS and DISCUSSION
The purpose of this experiment within the tenets of Paralosophy is to avoid answer bias. Subconsciously, when one asks a question, you listen for an appropriate answer. A question such as, "How many are here with us?" or, "How old are you?" will have the listener straining to pick numbers out of the chaos. By taking the knowledge of the questions being asked out of the Listener's purview, it frees them to be open to any and all communications filtering through.
It has been noted by past participants in this experiment that the communications heard become longer and more relevant after multiple rounds. Perhaps that is due to the Listener getting used to the noise of the spirit box, or it could be that they are getting "in tune" with the spirits using the waves to speak. Nothing definitive has yet been established.
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Recently, I've seen a variation of this method branded as the "Estes Method", with Ganzfeld elements mixed into it. With any form of experimentation, it's good to explore or mix methods that have shown promise. Personally though, I find that even deprived of sight and alleged outside sound, a single receiver is still prone to bias. Since we bring our personalities and experiences into play, certain phonics will be filtered through them and interpreted accordingly.
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With two Listeners, their personalities will still affect what they hear, but where their answers overlap is the point of interest. Imagine one is an optimist, the other a cynic - their written answers will likely skew towards their world view, but the truth naturally lies somewhere in between.
#PARALOSOPHY and Dual Output Spirit Box Experiment ™ & © Brian J. Cano