COMMENTARY: POWERFUL PREJUDICES,
BELIEFS and the 'EXPERIMENTER EFFECT'.
My 27 years involvement in afterlife
research showed me that just because someone claims
to be a scientist, that does not mean he/she does not
have his/her negative prejudices like everyone else.
These negative prejudices stop scientists from acknowledging
the true value of afterlife evidence. Intrinsic powerful
negative prejudices and beliefs can be very hard to
shift.
This is called THE EXPERIMENTER EFFECT which can happen
in one or more of 7 stages:
1. In reading up on the field
2. In specifying and selecting the study sample
3. In executing the experiment
4. In measuring outcomes
5. In analyzing the data
6. In interpreting the data
7. In publishing the results.
The classic experimenter effect was demonstrated by
Professor Marilyn Schlitz (who got positive results)
and Professor R Wiseman (a skeptic who got negative
results) on the same experiment with the same subjects.
Read
more...
DO BELIEFS STOP US FROM EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE? It
has long been claimed that spiritual masters who practice
yoga (or buddhist meditation or Qigong and other martial
arts) develop psychic
powers that Western science says do not exist. In
Supernormal
Dr. Dean Radin examines the claims made in Patanjali's
Yoga Sutras, a 2,000 year-old manuscript on meditation
practices which are believed to release extraordinary
powers. He compares these to modern experiments on the
paranormal. Listen
to interview with Dr Radin. Prahlad Jani has been
investigated twice by a team of doctors to confirm his
claims that he survives without eating or drinking. Naturally
this has unleashed a storm of disbelief. Read
about the controversy.
CELEBRITIES WHO HAD A NEAR DEATH
EXPERIENCE Peter Sellers
was the comic genius of a generation of actors. He brought
brilliant characterizations to numerous films, including
"The Mouse That Roared" (1959), "Dr.
Strangelove" (1964), "The Pink Panther"
(1964), and "Being There"
(1979). In 1964, during the first of a rapid series
of eight heart attacks, his heart stopped and he was
clinically dead. On one occasion he had an out-of-body
experience and saw the bright, loving light: "Well,
I felt myself leave my body. I just floated out of my
physical form and I saw them cart my body away to the
hospital. I went with it ... I wasn't frightened or
anything like that because I was fine; and it was my
body that was in trouble. I looked around myself and
I saw an incredibly beautiful bright loving white light
above me. I wanted to go to that white light more than
anything. I've never wanted anything more. I know there
was love, real love, on the other side of the light
which was attracting me so much. It was kind and loving
and I remember thinking 'That's God'". (MacLaine,
172)
CALLING A MEDIUM A FRAUD I
came across a closed-minded skeptic who, as part of
a malicious organised campaign, called an international
medium a 'fraud', because he does not believe genuine
mediumship exists. Just a quick bit of free legal advice.
Calling a medium a 'fraud' imputes dishonesty. If you
can't prove specifically how, when and where the fraud
took place,
the medium could sue you for unspecified damages. This
was confirmed when Sally Morgan (left) successfully
sued the English Daily Mail Newspaper for defamation.
The paper had to pay her a quarter of a million dollars.
Many people are not aware that this applies to social
media. Among the recent cases a former student was ordered
to pay an Australian school teacher $105,000 for defaming
her on Twitter and Facebook.
Read more....
PMH ATWATER TALKS ABOUT NDE
MARKERS IN YOUNG CHILDREN She claims
having a NDE before or during birth or in early life
can lead to changes in brain patterning and nerve response
which tend to set these children apart from siblings
and other kids. Her talk is based on her book The
New Children and Near-Death Experiences.
WHAT HAPPENS TO CHILDREN IN THE
AFTERLIFE? "The death of
a child may be the most painful experience that life can
bring. For most, the grief is a process to be managed;
it isn’t something that you really get over. But
many bereft parents find solace in gaining a better understanding
of their children’s lives now, and fortunately the
afterlife evidence has a lot to say about the deaths of
children. From the perspective of the child, early death
turns out to be a peaceful time of love and joy."
Read more...
QUESTION: IS THERE ONLY SUMMER
IN THE AFTERLIFE? What if you
like winter?
Jurgen
Ziewe: " Before I had my own extensive excursions
I innocently believed that the much publicised "Summerland"
was the prevailing state of the afterlife and not much
else. There is cold, which is a spiritual coldness which
is experienced very much like physical cold but with an
added spiritual dimension. On the other hand I visited
enchanting and beautiful snow sceneries where even the
snow was comfortable and warm, glistening in a beautiful
bright daylight with millions of sparks emanating from
it and each snow crystal feeling like a blessing. Our
physical life cannot even touch on the infinity of experiences
to be had when released from our restrictive physical
nervous system." Read Jurgen's
second book about his out of body experiences.
ROBERT SCHWARZ, author of the book Courageous
Souls talks about pre-birth life planning and
about how acknowledging it can benefit us.
QUESTION:
Can the spirit of a child who dies "before his
time" be as advanced as that of an adult?
"He
is sometimes much more so; for he may previously have
lived longer and acquired more experience, especially
if he be a spirit who has already made considerable
spiritual progress. And many times the spirit of a child
is more advanced than that of his father. This is because
when we come to earth we arrive here with the level
of spirituality we had in the afterlife." The
Spirits' Book
A SISTER TESTS HER DEAD BROTHER 26 year old Kyle died
in an auto accident. His sister is devastated. She doesn't
believe in after-death communication so she tests her
brother during a reading with the renowned psychic medium,
John Edward.
THE MISSION OF HELPING PARENTS HEAL Helping
Parents Heal, founded by Mark Ireland and Elizabeth Boisson
in Arizona USA, is a non-profit organization dedicated
to assisting parents who
have lost children, giving them support and resources
to aid in the healing process. They go a step beyond other
groups by allowing the open discussion of spiritual experiences
and evidence for the afterlife, in a non-dogmatic way.
According to their current newsletter they now have
23 Affiliate groups in the USA and Canada. Read
more...
GENDER CHOICE Before we
come down to earth, are we given a choice whether we incarnated
as male or female? Terri M.
Victor: I can tell you that the afterlife
is very well organized
for those who are to incarnate here on physical earth.
A spirit who plans to incarnate will have higher beings
to plan what experiences to have and what lessons the
spirit has to learn. So, the country, the parents, gender,
the social and educational status, any religious affiliation,
the environment, the spiritual challenges all will be
worked out. The spirit will have the usual free-will to
act according to the circumstances he/she finds himself
in. If it is important for the spirit to be of a particular
gender, then the spirit will come to earth according to
the worked out plan.
HISTORICAL INEVITABILITY OF THE WORLD ACCEPTING THE AFTERLIFE
Question:
You mentioned in an article written by you published in
the Rev Michael Cocks'
Ground of Faith Journal (February
2016) that all the world will one day accept the afterlife.
How sure are you of that?
Victor: As I explained in detail, there are forces
operating
in our world that we cannot stop. One of those forces
is the continuance and refinement of knowledge.
All the time we are getting new information about the
afterlife from ITC, from mediumship, from out of body
experiencers and from direct after death communication.
There will be clash of forces, but eventually, the powerful
force of objectivity, predictability and repeatability
will negate all other forces. I am confident that in the
future, we will have the objective, predictable and repeatable
afterlife evidence which will be accessible to all people
around the world.
QUESTION Does the soul
ever sink so low that it is extinguished altogether
- even after thousands of years in these lower realms?
"NO. It may reach a stage where the spark of the
Great Power within it is but a small flicker, but the
light never goes out, for the link which binds it to
the Great Power is a link forged in eternity. Justice
tells that no soul descends so low that it cannot rise.
No soul is so high that it cannot descend to help the
lowest." S. Birch
QUESTION With so much media hype on the
Presidential election is the USA, what is going to happen
to politicians when they cross over? Victor: Of course, there are no parliaments
in the afterlife
- and no need for politicians. But there would be positions
of leadership. They are open not only to politicians but
to anyone who has the spiritual advancement, the skills
and competence, the leadership qualities and the motivation
for high quality selfless service. There are many fine
people who enter politics with a desire to make a difference
(like Thomas Jefferson pictured). Those with unblemished
character who are able to cope with all kinds of obstacles
will do well in the afterlife. For example, there would
be a need for negotiators to deal with stubborn spirits
like those who were dictators on earth or who wilfully
abused their power to hurt others. Clearly nothing is
wasted and those with spiritual leadership skills will
be able to make a significant contribution in the afterlife.
ROBERTA
GRIMES INTERVIEWS CYRUS KIRKPATRICK Although
he is not yet thirty years old, Cyrus Kirkpatrick has
been involved in hands-on afterlife research for half
his lifetime. Roberta considers his new book to be so
important that she recommends it as what she calls “a
thinking person’s The Fun of Dying.”
Cyrus’s research is breaking exciting new ground
in this important field! Listen
to interview.
GUY LYON PLAYFAIR TALKS ABOUT BRAZILIAN MEDIUM CHICO
XAVIER
NANCY REAGAN item from last week Thanks
Cath for letting us know that the media in the U.S.A.
pubicised Nancy Reagan's use of astrologers. Not so
well known in other parts of the world. Feedback on
the item from last week: 'Hello
Victor, I read your story about how the
media didn't mention that Nancy Reagan consulted astrologers,
but it was well known here in the US that she did, and
it was also mentioned in some of the media coverage
here in the US when they reported her passing. Cath'
1)The best newsletter Victor. I love it every week!!!
Sheri Perl Migdol
2. Dear Dr. Zammit, Firstly, I want to thank you for
the extensive (and I'm sure, time-consuming) work you
put into your afterlife report. I read it every week,
usually within hours of it being posted, and always
enjoy it immensely! Sandy C
3) Thanks Victor, your fantastic and informative afterlife
reports, have really kept me going over some very difficult
months. Thank you so much. Best regards Delphine.
SOMETHING TO GET YOUR FEET TAPPING "Don't
Worry, Be Happy" is a song by musician Bobby McFerrin.
Released in September 1988, it became the first acappella
song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart,
a position it held for two weeks. The song's title is
taken from a famous quotation by spiritual teacher Meher
Baba. The "instruments" in the acappella
song are entirely overdubbed voice parts and other sounds
made by McFerrin, using no instruments at all; McFerrin
also sings with an affected accent.
Whilst we encourage and we publish many
papers and reports by afterlife researchers, we are
not in a position to guarantee the accuracy of all claims.
We accept the imputed claim that the afterlife and paranormal
research done by the researchers is done in good faith.
ALL WORK IS COPYRIGHT BY THE CONDITIONS SET AT THE GENEVA
CONFERENCE ON COPYRIGHT.