White Light Healing… Someone Call an Electrician.

You walk coolly into the Barnes and Nobles looking for that certain attention grabbing good read that you want to devote your time to. As you make your way past the small tables with books of the month and pass the bargain aisles you make your way back farther and farther. As you pass the True Crime and Science Fiction you happen to discover the New Age section. How fitting is it that this should be in the same area of True Crime and Science Fiction? I will admit this to you all before I get started, that I visit this section each and every time I go into a book store. I have been buying books from this section for years and been researching/studying everything I could, that was dedicated to this particular book section. I am absolutely fascinated by New Age Phenomena and books that are written about it.

While I was examining the spines of the books and what they were about, I found one called White Light Healing. Now I am not new to this concept, but I am however more of a skeptic now than I had previously been in the past. I talked to a number of “white light” healers and some have been intriguing and some have been down right scam artists. You see the topic of “white light healing” is very easily faked and easy to cover up just as well. Am I going to make some people angry with this little blog of mine, you’re damn right I am, but am I going to make some people put their skills to the test and prove I am wrong…I would hope so.

I thumbed through the book on “white light healing” and it was very confusing, read like stereo instructions in my honest opinion. So I decided to do some more research to get a better grasp on what they were trying to convince me. Now they talk about envisioning white light pouring over you or out of something and flowing freely like water in fact one quote is this, “…breathing in the pure white light, seeing it streaming down into your chest, and breathing out the grey…in with the white and pure…out with the grey, the old, and the worn…” This is some crazy tree hugging stuff right here my friend, in with the good air out with the bad, isn’t this from a CPR class or something?

Now if this is a form of meditation, which I think it is from what I have gathered, then why not just say it as that. Don’t say it’s “white light healing” when there is literally no white light involved or healing for that matter. If light was involved then we would be hanging Christmas lights or light bulbs over our heads, heck you could pull the ol’ eating a light bulb carney trick and replace that whole apple a day thing.

There doesn’t need to be some overly complicated series of instructions to teach people how to meditate and then call it some sort of “healing”. I could easily go up to someone who is full of anxiety and angst, say to them take a couple deep breaths and relax. Oh wait we all pretty much do that now, so why connect it with some sort of healing?

I can easily open up a store front, hang some awesome new age decorations and charge tons of cash for people to come to me and tell them to breath deep and relax thus resulting in them being healed. Of course if they go away and aren’t healed then I can easily say, “well you didn’t believe in mother earth and her Keebler elves of light healing so its your fault,” Yeah I can totally do that however I never would because I have way too much of a conscience, despite what people say, to do that. Yet there are people who are doing this, and I’m not talking about the people who do it because they believe in it, I’m talking about the people who are doing it because they are scams and cheats…and there are a lot of them.

 

In my travels around the world I have met many, many people who claim to have “white light healing” powers…superman had powers…you have a belief. Now I will admit I have met some people I would give a second though to in their abilities with stuff, but that’s like one out of a thousand people I meet in this realm. If people want to believe that this heals them then I am completely down with that, the placebo effect is a tried and true method to help many people overcome things. If you don’t know what that is then it is simply this, if you tell someone this red crystal like candy will heal them and if they believe it will work then it will work for them even though all it was is a simple watermelon jolly rancher.

Let’s call this “white light healing” what it really is…meditational deep breathing in order to help you relax and feel better. If you can prove to me rationally and scientifically that “white light healing” does in fact have some merit behind it then I am all ears and willing to retract what I have stated, but every time I make the challenge no one steps up to the plate, so I doubt anyone will at this point in time. As for taking classes to “perform”, and I say “perform” because it is a performance and not actually real, this ability for “white light healing” then I would love to see your course syllabus and explain to me how that scam works.

Be safe and we’ll leave the light on for ya,

Jon Bolton

Ghost Equipment…Adapt, Improvise & Overcome

Adapt, Improvise & Overcome is a motto generally assigned to the United States Marine Corp and they are by far the best at living up to this motto. They have accepted this motto because they generally aren’t given the funding as the other three braches and seem to get the hand-me-downs of weaponry and technology yet they use it better than the original armed force it was intended for. They are the masters of adaptation, improvisation and the ability to overcome any and all that is placed in front of them. Now by no means am I about to put Ghost Hunting and the outstanding US Marine corps in the same category, but I merely wanted you to know the origin and reason behind such a motto. Now onto why I used it to discuss Ghost Hunting and the equipment they (we) use for paranormal investigations.

In the realm of Ghost Hunting there is no equipment truly designed to catching, finding or discovering ghostly apparitions. All equipment is based off of loose understanding of what a paranormal entity is supposed to be. We use such equipment as K2, EMF, Digital Recorder or even FLIR Cameras to help us find those which we consider to create paranormal events. My question is why and how did we get to this point? I have talked with many a ghost hunter and have even e-mail some of the more popular TV shows about getting answers to some of the most basic of questions. The responses to these questions however are always the same or no response back from the e-mails. The responses are that this is how it is yet when I ask for more in depth to see if they know the reasoning why it’s because they have bought into the TV shows and their methodology.

I have been and continue to do research into the paranormal and find out answers to the basic of questions that nobody really knows why. I will try experiments to prove or disprove something…that’s what science is all about. Do ghosts really emit energy and draw energy out of the air to manifest? Why do ghost that appear as warm on a FLIR always leave cold spots which should register as dark colors? How do we know that digital recorders are truly reliable in capturing EVP when it could be something else? How do we conclude something is paranormal when it could be a simple environmental anomaly? These are the questions that I have no found a good answer on from anyone including those on the TV shows that I have had the privilege of talking with.

Now I am by no means a saint in this category as I have a number of pelican cases full of different types of equipment for experiments. I have bought some that was said to be built just for ghost hunting, but really is it? We are taking everyday equipment used for logical purposes and attempting to use it for something nobody understands. The paranormal can be a science as long as people treat it as such, don’t be so willing to give into the modern trend of what TV shows tell you. If you have a doubt, then experiment it until there is nothing left, but true evidence. Think outside of the box and research because it may be something very simple that you’re missing.

Be safe and try coloring outside the lines for once,

Jon Bolton

Hungry Ghost???....Try an all you can eat Chinese buffet.

In the land of the rising sun, China for those of you who have no clue what I was talking about for a minute, there is a festival that has taken place for hundreds of years. In a society/culture/belief of China there stands to be quite a number of supernatural and spiritual festivals that take place. One such festival is called the Hungry Ghost Festival which is celebrated on the 15^th month of the 7^th lunar month…yeah I tried finding that one on the calendar too, if you find it let me know.

Actually on the the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month in Chineese tradition. This is the time when the ghosts of the deceased come out fomr the lower realm and walk amongst the living. The people would make altars flled with food or fake money in order to appease those who have past on and to appease the Gods of those past on who may not have been good people. Sometimes they make small boats filled with lanterns and then are floated on the river which helps to give the dead direction as where t go. There are many ways to celebrate this holiday so long as it appeases the deceased.

Can you imagnie a scheduled day when the gates of Heaven and Hell would both opena dn converse amongst the living. I don’t know about you, but the imagery of Ghostbusters after the containment grid was shut down comes to mind when the ghost are running all over the place. To hold a concert and the first five rows are empty becayuse they are reserved for the dead? This may see pretty “backwoodsish” yet this is what they believe, this is mainly based within the Budhist Taoists religion of the far east.

Now this isnt just a Chinese celebration, this festival or ones like it are also celebrated in places such as  Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Taiwan. The middle eastern culture tend to be more aware of the dead and while they mounr just as we do in the western world they however see to hold onto their loved ones and pay much more respect for them not only in the living form but in the spiritual form as well.

The Hungry Ghost Festival is just one of many wasy the asian culture embraces the after life and which leads me to wonder why there aren’t more asian ghost hunting groups within the country. I guess one may never know.

Be safe and have an eggroll,

Jon Bolton

 

The Rapture is coming… Thank You Chicken Little

The Rapture conjurors up visions of hell on earth and things happening in biblical proportions; to quote Dr. Peter Venkman “Dogs and Cats living together, mass hysteria.” The Rapture is believed to be by many the day when Jesus will call the chosen up to Heaven with him, they will all just disappear and be in heaven while leaving the rest of the world to hopefully get onto the next wave of ascension or be blinked out of existence for the rest of eternity to never be thought of again, pretty scary/creepy no matter how you look at it.

Now why am I brining up the whole Rapture topic, well on May 21sr, 2011 the Rapture is supposedly going to take place. That’s right folks the Rapture is about to happen and you can’t stop it, so run up those credit card bills because you won’t have to pay them off, so long as this date is correct…which it isn’t. That’s right, there is no way this can be accurate, I say this for a number of reasons and not just because I’m selfish and want to see the entire season of Mythbusters before the Rapture happens.

Let’s look at the most convincing evidence of them all, in the bible, Matthew to be exact, it states: Matthew 24:36: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only" Now to me it would seem nobody really knows when the Rapture is supposed to take place, not even Jesus himself and last time I checked he and God were pretty tight with one another. So if not even Jesus knows the date then how in the world can we? The answer is that we can’t known and won’t know until the day it happens, plain and simple.

Now there have also been quite a number of Rapture dates through out history, some dating as far back as March 21^st, 1844 and even dates predicted as far into the future as 2060, which was calculated by Sir Isaac Newton. These dates are based off the biblical time line of events presented to us through the good book. I also hate to be the bearer of bad news, but trying to figure out exact time lines in the bible is pretty much impossible, the calendar is not the same as it was back then. Many scholars have tried with great effort to figure out true dates and times within the bible and each time there are so many different answers because most of the things are based on interpretations as to when the events actually occurred.

Now the May21st Rapture has been pushed really hard by Harold Camping who is the president of Family Stations, Inc. which is a religious based radio broadcast company. He has been criticized for his teachings and this Rapture date for a number of years. May I also add that this is the 3^rd or 4^th Rapture date he has come up with over the years, so as each one passes he revises his statement with quoting miscalculation on his part. Do I care really if he says the Rapture will happen on a certain date at a certain time? No I do not, however I do mind if people start to really buy into and in the process hurt themselves and others. His group has been compare to the Branch Dividian incident involving David Koresh and the Heaven’s Gate group, which if we all remember how these two groups ended it wasn’t good.

I am not saying you can’t have opinions and speculations as to the time and date of the Rapture, but make sure express it is presented as such. If you start to predict the future end of the world then in essence you are going against the teaching of the Bible. The Bible wants us to be kind and good to our fellow man/woman, not to work them up into a anxiety filled stressful frenzy based upon a date and time you made up just to try and prove how “Godly” you are. Just be good and just enjoy life while helping out where you can along the way, that’s the true message when you boil it all down. Take what is said with a grain of salt and do your own research and draw your own opinions because you may find out more about yourself than you realized.

 
Be safe and be happy; it’s the best way to make it though life,

Jon Bolton

 

Carbon County Jail…the handprint that wouldn’t go away.

Legends, lore and curses surround many paranormal and supernatural phenomena and stories of the past. From glowing tombstones to patches of grass that won’t grow on the a grave to bloodstains that will never wash away all are connected to a death of the unjustly accused and either killed to hide something or killed while they were proclaiming their innocence. These stories have been around for many years and in fact I am sure we must have heard stories such as these around camp fires or in books of strange but true stories. This is simply just one of those type of stories that involve a man, a crime he didn’t commit and a type of curse to prove his innocence for all eternity.

Located in the mountains of Pennsylvania there is a small little town called Jim Thorpe. This town as small as it is, is very buys now a days with the upper class establishing it as the best place to be and the local wineries given the upper crust snobs a place in the mountains to call their own. Now I enjoy going to Jim Thorpe because it is peacefully and actually very relaxing. There is a small little bar there called Molly Maguire’s where you can get a pint of Guinness and a fantastic crab dip. Now through all the stores and tourist traps up there, there is a old run down jail known as the Carbon County Jail that boasts a story of innocence and cursed legend. You see there is a hand on the wall of one of the cells that will never go away.

In the 1800’s a group of local Irish coal miners known as the Molly Maguire’s were imprisoned here because of false accusations of the wealthy and powerful to remove them and claim the mines for their own profit and greed, it was very union based as well. This group that was currently imprisoned at the Carbon County Prison at the time included a man who stated over and over again that he was innocent of all charges that had been filed against him by the untrustworthy wealthy and lying fellow prisoners, who had testified just so they could be released whether their accusations were true or not. This man was named Alexander Campbell was on 1877 was sentenced to “hang from his neck until dead”. As Alexander was being led away from his prison cell he placed his hand on the wall and stated that his hand print shall remain there for all eternity no matter what, he was then hanged only a few minutes later.

Now while Alexander’s life had ended, his curse/legend and his handprint had just begun for his handprint had in fact remained there and would continue to remain there to this very day.

You can take a tour of the prison and see this handprint on the wall, this handprint to mark the innocence of a man unjustly hung, with your very own eyes. Now the story goes that the prison has tried to paint over it, wash it away and even tear down the wall and build a new one, but to no avail the hand print returns each and every time. Now there are other fanciful ghost stories connected to the prison, but none such as the handprint.

Do I believe that this handprint legend to be true??? To be honest Im not sure, I would love to have a team of actual scientists investigate the handprint to see if there is any basis behind the legend. Could the stone itself be able to hold the oils from the hand like a photography, but then since the wall had supposedly been replaced could it just be a fake in order to keep the tourists and legend of the Molly Maguire’s alive. It’s a good story and the town of Jim Thorpe is a good one to visit to get a way and you can enjoy the local Ghost Tour as well.

Be safe and remember that finger painting is always fun,

John Cannon

Follow me on twitter  @JohnCannonTBS for up-to-date randomness and odd crazy adventures I have along the way.

Sea Monsters of the Lake… Not Just for Oceans Anymore.

There are many stories of monsters that roam the seven seas as told by the sailors who venture out in those waters. The tales of mega sharks, giant squid, mermaids and even temptress sirens of the sea that date all the way back to Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey. The sea is a vast amount of water and is not easily explored both on the surface and most especially below. Most of the world’s oceans have yet to be explored and identified and that’s just the surface if we go below then there might just in fact be those sea monsters of legend and lore. Now that makes total and complete sense for the oceans of the world, but what about lakes?

It seas that lakes go through the same amount of legend and lore in relation to sea monsters as the oceans do. Through out the world there are reports of many lake monsters. Some of these lake monsters are more famous than others, but they still all come down to the same thing, monsters in a lake.

Some of the most commonly known lake monsters are tow in particular one being the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland and then Champ located in Lake Champlain near New York. Loch Ness is truly the granddaddy of all lake monsters and thrives in tourism just from its legendary status. Now there have been expeditions of the lake to try and hunt down the elusive creature. If you look at all the experiments that have taken place to find the Loch Ness Monsters I think you would have to agree that the chances of us finding something in there is slim to none. Well through all the experiments they have found nothing, and people to this day are still spotting the great lake monster. Could all these people be lying or could their eyes be playing tricks on them? In a world where everyone wants that 15 minutes of fame I would venture to guess that a fair bit of them are lying and the rest have seen something that looked odd, but can easily be explained.

A lesser known lake monster is that located in Pennsylvania and is billed as PAs own loch ness monster. The lake is located in Raystown Pennsylvania and in the Raystown lake is said to exist a lake monster. Now being from PA I am particularly drawn to this because there haven’t been all that many sightings and they are all fairly recent. Now being the scuba diver that I am would love to venture into the lake and take a look for myself, but I highly doubt I would find anything.

The exploration of lake and the eco system that live within them should be a fairly easy task to accomplish. So long as there are no rivers or underwater lines to other bodies of water there should be no reason why we couldn’t drop a side-scan sonar, comb the lake and find these supposed monsters? One reason is because nobody wants to waste the time, effort and money on such an expedition because it is chasing a legend that doesn’t exist. Are there things living in lakes that people don’t know about? Sure there are and we find things everyday but if we can find the smallest of items in a lake then why wouldn’t we be able to find a giant lake monster? Do you think the lake monster is smarter than us and messing with us? If you do then I feel bad for you, there are no such things as lake monsters as for sea monsters I would be willing to believe that much more easily.

Be safe and don’t feed the lake monsters,

Jon Bolton @JohnCannonTBS

The Labyrinth…was it bull(aka Minotaur)???

When you were a young child did you ever take graph paper and create your own maze on it??? Did you enjoy doing the mazes found in random children’s magazines??? Have you ever spent a good amount of time getting lost in a corn maze around the fall season of Halloween??? I know I am guilty of all three of these things. I remember doing the mazes and having to erase the pencil lines I drew because I ran into a wall and then had to retrace my path till I found the correct route through…because somehow it mattered if I erased the incorrect lines, but I know I wasn’t the only one guilty of this. So we are all aware of mazes and in fact most video games are just a giant maze in which you have to make it through without getting killed by whatever evil presence there is. Again, we are very familiar with what a maze is and we have all had some sort of a run in with them. Oh and apparently there is a dispute as to what the difference between a maze and a labyrinth, but we will call it a maze because my spell check hates when I try and spell labyrinth.

Now picture being in a maze, a real life maze, made of stone that stretched for as far as the eye could see, in fact you were put in this maze to prove your innocence or courage. Ok no big deal, I mean what could be so bad about it. Other than the maze being made of concrete and not corn and being very long so you could possibly get hungry or thirsty during the event what else and how bad could it be. Well how about if there was a monster in the maze that was half man and have bull called a Minotaur and its only goal was to kill you and eat you…yeah now sort of sounds something like its out of the Running Man.

This myth of a labyrinth and Minotaur is from Greek and Roman mythology. Mythology is full of fanciful tales to help explain the unexplainable and to show the trials and tribulations of common man in regards to the Gods above. This maze of death was commissioned by the King of Minos and it held his Minotaur which ultimately within mythology was killed by a man named Theseus.

So there is your quick cliff note version of the labyrinth, now what if I were to tell you that this may not be a myth after all??? What if I were to tell you that this great large labyrinth was in fact a real and genuine place??? There have been four ancient labyrinths discovered located in Cretan, Egypt, Lemnian and Italy. The labyrinth in question that was said to hold the minotaur was the Cretan labyrinth. Now we know for a fact that this labyrinth existed, we know for a fact that King Minos had it constructed..so now what about the Minotaur???

Well the story is that King Minos pissed off the God of the Sea Neptune, yeah never do that, so Neptune then had the king’s wife sleep with a savage bull which in turn she then bore the Miotaur…way to go beastiality. So the labyrinth was created to house the half man half bull and thus is the story. So is there any truth to a half man half bull creature running around a psychotic concrete maze eating people and was the result of a pissed off God??? If you seriously asked yourself that question then slam your head into the wall. Of course there is no such thing to have ever existed. Hell you might as well say that there was a Bigfoot running around the maze…damn now cryptozoologists are going to be claiming that now, Im sure I’ll be seeing that on Searching for Bigfoot soon. You see the reason for the bull theory was that there were a number of artifacts found with bulls paint on them and one of the famous ones of a man jumping over a bull…try and pull that one off you rodeo clowns. Now I enjoy watching pro bull riding and I couldn’t imagine a thinking pissed of savage bull coming at me, try and ride that one for 8 seconds you cowboys.

This story as fanciful as it is, is just that…it is a story. Would I love to see evidence of a half man half bull that ran around killing people n some giant labyrinth…you’re damn right I would, but unfortunately it never existed. It all stems to people creating stories t scare one another and I would definitely consider this to be one of the original “campfire horror stories” that people would tell.

 

Be safe and if you mess with the bull you’ll get the horns,

John Cannon

Follow me @JohnCannonTBS for up to date writings and ramblings