110509 Paranexus Newsletter

05 November 2009

The ParaNexus Newsletter

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© 2009 by ParaNexus.org. Editor: David Desjardins CD This Newsletter is distributed free of charge to anyone interested. Please visit ParaNexus.org to subscribe. Serious article submissions welcome. Please send subm i s s i o n s t o [email protected]

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Not a ParaNexus Member Yet? Join the Vision Recent Blogs

Tonight on ParaNexus Universe Radio

- Let No One Come This Way - Responsible Research: “Experts”…

I N S I D E TH I S I S S U E :

Thursday, 11-05-09 • 9pm 10pm Eastern Letters From the Editor

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The Nature of Parapsychology With Kevin Costa

Membership Update

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Zoom H2 Digital Voice Recorder

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What it Means to be a “Certified Paranormal Investigator”

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WavePad Master Sound Editor

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LIVE UFO, Haunting & Cryptozoological Expedition Broadcast

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Discussion of what areas fall under the parapsychology umbrella with ParaNexus Board Member Kevin Costa. Kevin studied parapsychology under Dr. Roll.

N e w Members Research assistant, Online with many great features and tools located all in one place on the web.

- A Celebration of Fear

Join or Renew your membership now to take advantage of many new membership benefits.

- Buzzards Might Roost in My Hair - Tiny Packages ,Cigarettes All in Row

Visit: www.paranexus.org /join

These Blogs and others can be f o u n d a t : www.paranexus.org/forum/ index.php?zc

A n n o u n c e m e n t s What’s tall, hairy and smell’s like rotten eggs? Find out in the latest entry of the ParaNexus Parapedia.

Membership dues are increasing on 12/1/09. Join/Renew now at the lower rates!

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Halloween has come and gone, and, by the looks of things, everyone has kept their arms and legs inside the ride at all times and survived another paranormally challenging month. With that, happy November to everyone. As winter creeps up on us (some of us, anyway), some groups may be looking at quieter times on the hori-

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zon. These are the times when team building activities become an important part of your organization.

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team on a more personal level outside the investigative setting.

Rather than sitting back twiddling your thumbs due to lack of investigations, continue your weekly meetings, schedule a movie night, go for coffee, and discuss alternate topics. What better time to get to know the people on your

Suggestions, questions, comments or concerns pertaining to this article or anything contained herein may be sent to: [email protected] or [email protected] I look forward to receiving your feedback.

Certified Paranormal Investigators Course Available at ParaNexus Academy

A Message from the Director Membership

Dues Update

By Doug Kelley, CH, CSL, CLPI, ParaNexus Chairman, Executive Director After a year and a half in Remember that existence, ParaNexus is emerging as a reputable, what's right isn't respected, and grounded always popular, association of anomalous Recent and what's researchers. months have brought about popular isn't significant and positive always right. - changes to ParaNexus. We have incorporated as a non Unknown -profit association and are filing for our 501(c)(3) tax exempt status with the IRS in the next few days (our application is currently being reviewed by professionals for completeness). We have added some additional individuals to the Board of Directors who have demonstrated a grounded and rational approach to anomalous research. We now have eight Board Members with impressive academic, paranormal, and life-skills credentials who have accepted the weighty responsibility of providing direction and vision

to ParaNexus in the months and years to come. In fact, some Board Members have been asked to consult on potential documentary projects for popular and well-known scientific TV channels. With ParaNexus‟ future in mind, the Board of Directors has decided to bring membership dues in line with other associations in the broad field of anomalous research. Most associations in the field have dues that range from around $45 to over $100 annually with $55 - $65 being common. Most professional associations outside the paranormal field charge well over $100 for annual membership dues. Membership dues are a primary method that most associations use for financial support of their charitable missions, ParaNexus included. Therefore, effective December 1, 2009, ParaNexus‟ annual memberships will be $59, and monthly membership subscriptions will be $6.50. All current annual and monthly members

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will continue to enjoy membership benefits at the old rates until their membership renewal dates at which time the new rates will become effective. As always, we deeply appreciate and thank our members for their contributions both in the paranormal field as well as financially. We feel that being a ParaNexus member offers more benefits to the serious anomalous researcher than can be found elsewhere. These benefits include the opportunity to share concepts and data, publish articles and blogs, get discounts, and host your own anomalous research website, among others. For a complete list of benefits, please visit www.paranexus.org/join. The Board of Directors frequently reviews additional benefits for members. We hope that you will embrace the sense of pride that comes with belonging to such a dynamic and forwardmoving organization determined to discover answers in a field of research that has, in some ways, become a bit stagnant. ParaNexus intends to become a world-wide reference point for grounded yet open-minded anomalous research. We hope that you will join or continue to remain a part of the ParaNexus Vision and display your membership banner with pride!

Z o o m D i g i t a l B y

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The Zoom H2 is a simple idea, provide brilliant stereo recording in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable device. The outer case resembles a vintage studio microphone but the designers of this recorder took advantage of every inch of its surface area. Every area of this recorder has a feature and the underneath has a small door hiding the memory slot plus a very handy threaded metal insert for attaching to a screw-in stand.

The Zoom H2 also comes with a handy screw-in stand enabling the recorder to be placed anywhere in a room while investigating, so holding or laying the recorder is not required.

When it comes to EVP, this is the highest quality recorder to consider. There are higher quality devises than the Zoom H2, but most have features that are not necessary for EVP recording.

Features:  W-XY Mic patterns with 4 Mic capsules and signal processing allows Front 90° cardioids, Rear 120° cardioids and 360° polar patterns;  Built-in USB 2.0 interface;  Records in WAV 96kHz/48kHz/44.1kHz at 16-bit or 24-bit, MP3 to 320kbps and Variable Bit Rate (VBR) data formats;  Time Stamp and Track Marker functions in Broadcast WAV Format (BWF);  512MB SD memory card included;  Accommodates up to 16GB SD memory cards;  Auto Gain Control (AGC) for pristine recordings;  Auto Start function means you're always ready to record;  Low-cut filter eliminates wind noise; and  On-board chromatic Guitar/Bass tuner

The Zoom H2 records in high quality and features a unique 360 degrees pick up pattern and a built in audio interface. The front pair is angled 90° apart and the rear pair is angled 120° and it has a four-microphone setup. This opens the door to recording in 360°. This is of particular interest as it means that if the anomalous voice captured is directional, this recorder will pick up the voice from a specific direction. This recorder allows you to experiment with directional recording very easily in any room. The recording quality is clear and accurate and this means a rarer chance that a noise recorded will be mistaken for a possible voice; this may help eliminate false positives to a larger degree.

This is a seriously good recorder; virtually everything you would ever need is in this unit. It is more expensive, but eBay or Amazon do have reasonable prices on them.

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What it Means to Be a “Certified Paranormal Investigator” B y

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When someone notices the designation, C.P.I. after my name, I am often asked, “What exactly does that mean?” I used to respond with something along the lines of, “Well, it means that I am a Certified Paranormal Investigator!” As I recently learned in the ParaNexus Certified Leading Paranormal Investigator Course, questions have a certain sense of importance that I didn‟t bother to previously acknowledge. Now, when asked what the C.P.I. designation means, I may respond with, “It means that I am a Certified Paranormal Investigator, do you know what that means?” This gives me an opportunity to explain the nature of paranormal research as well as to explain why being certified is preferable. For me, having a discussion like this is one of the times in life that I am compelled to revisit and reflect on what it really means to be a paranormal investigator. Several factors are involved in choosing to become a Certified Paranormal Investigator including:

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Why Certification is preferable;

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Passion for the field;

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Using investigators at home as an investigation technique; Dealing with clients. The foregoing items make up what it really means to be a paranormal investigator. WHY CERTIFICATION IS PREFERABLE Paranormal Investigator Certification is not something that everyone accomplishes in this field. There are some individuals who may feel that you do not need a certification to be a paranormal investigator. For the quality investigators who want to enhance their knowledge and technical ability, certification is a great opportunity. Becoming certified also gives the clients of paranormal investigators a sense of comfort. The clients, many times, are so overwhelmed when they call someone in to help. During these times, if a client is able to notice that an investigator has pushed far past average to educate themselves, they are more likely to

B r u d n a k trust in the investigator. It can make that client feel as if he or she has done the right thing by calling someone in. PASSION FOR INVESTIGATING PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

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There is always going to be someone in this field with a difference of opinion. There is always going to be someone who believes that their views on paranormal activity should dominate someone else‟s. Does being a paranormal investigator really mean that all I do is look for ghosts and spirits? To me it does not; in fact, it means so much more.

Leading Paranormal Investigator Certification Course (CLPI) Learn how to be an effective leader. This is a comprehensive leadership course that is useful for secular applications as well. You'll never find a comparable leadership course at this tuition!

In this day and age where being an investigator means that you are one of thousands, it is sometimes easy to push a little harder to show the world how much passion you have. I believe that ghosts and spirits take notice to our passion. You see, ghosts and spirits are not stupid, and I am sure that many of us take note of this. When conducting an investigation, any spirits present are going to be able to sense the feelings of the investigator. Does this mean that if a spirit knows the investigator has great passion it will always present itself? The answer is no, not exactly. “Smile and greet people as a matter of routine” (CLPI Course, p. 87) is an expression that underscores good manners, and this goes for the paranormal as well. I believe that letting your passion show who you are and what you do can make the spirit more comfortable, but it will be up to that spirit to interact with you (if it is an intelligent haunting). We all get the point that investigating is a serious thing, but there is no need to “not be human” when we are conducting an investigation. Recently on a case in Donora, Pennsylvania, our team had good interaction with the spirit of a woman in the residence. Upon entry, we were happy, smiling, and acting as any human being would act on a typically good day. We went through the home and expressed how nice it was and what made

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„us‟ feel at home there. We were able to get several Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP) from this residence because of our efforts to connect with the spirit.

am always myself around the client. I share stories with them, I talk about holidays, family gatherings, other experiences, and in the midst of things, and I tie in little discussion of the paranormal to make the subject less scary.

USING TEAM MEMBERS AT HOME ON AN INVESTIGATION

Being a Certified Paranormal Investigator means more than just having an extra three letters tied to the end of a name. It means skillfully employing the use of questions to help segue between interview topics. Being a Certified Paranormal Investigator means having a passion so deep for what you do that you can connect with a spirit on a different level than most people. Passion is also noticed by clients, and they are a big part of the reason most people are paranormal investigators. It is because of the clients that we are able to research paranormal phenomena. Theory has a lot to do with being a C.P.I. and it is because of theory that we are able to expand and grow as well as to learn other aspects of this world. Theory also helps the investigator to grow as a person. In the end, being a Certified Paranormal Investigator is who some people are. This is not just because they want to seek out ghosts, but because investigators have a deep interest in the psychology of helping others—both alive and deceased.

You can employ the use of other team members who are not on the investigation to great use. Our team believes in the connection that we all have and we use it to our advantage. I am not saying that you have to ask someone to sit at home and pray for good interaction while you are on an investigation. While your team is on an investigation, light a candle, and spend some time thinking about that case. What would you bring to the table if you were there? The expression, “What do I bring to the relationship?” (CLPI Course, p. 74) is a question that I recently answered myself. Who is to say that you can not bring anything to the relationship if you are not able to go on the investigation? Pull up a seat and research, read, and most importantly, think about that investigation. Talk to yourself as if the spirit in that place can hear your thoughts. For some, this can work to give extra support, and for others it might be considered rubbish, the choice is up to the belief of that person. UNDERSTANDING THE CLIENT One of the toughest parts of this job is dealing with the client, more specifically, understanding the client. Our team went on our first investigation in a private residence in a small town in Southwestern Pennsylvania. The client was not able to explain the activity as well as she thought, but she was able to give us information that allowed us to work with the situation. She talked and walked very fast and was excited and nervous which made it a challenge to get her account of what happened. “Clients who may be experiencing paranormal activity are often scared, confused, and very worried that others will think they are crazy” (CLPI Course, p. 97). It was very important to get our case manager alone with the client so that they could go through the onsite interview process. To understand the client, you have to place yourself in the client‟s shoes. How would I feel if I knew nothing about ghosts or spirits but thought I had one in my home? I have also asked myself, “What do I bring to the client because I am a certified paranormal investigator?” The answer is, myself; I bring myself to the client. Although everything is done professionally, I

BIO Barry Brudnak, CLPI is a Certified Leading Paranormal Investigator as well as the founder and director of the Society for Paranormal Investigations, Research Ideas and Theory (S.P.I.R.I.T.) based in Southwest Pennsylvania. He has an Associate’s Degree in Criminal Justice and is currently a senior at California University of Pennsylvania where he is majoring in Psychology. When not investigating the paranormal, Barry also serves as the ParaNexus Corporate Secretary. He can be contacted through his website at www.SPIRITswp.org or www.ParaNexus.org.

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The world of audio software programs can be both confusing and perplexing when starting out, especially if an individual is interested in recording EVP but has no audio editing experience. When I started out I had this same issue; I needed a simple and easy program to use and looked at many but at that time, I settled on WavePad. This is a very simple and user-friendly software program that is so simple you do not require any experience in the field of acoustics analysis. WavePad is a full featured professional audio and music editor for Windows, Mac OS X or Pocket PC. It allows the user to record and edit any type of audio recording very easily and quickly. It is very simple to access your recordings from your computer to the software and allows editing and clipping out of any part of the audio very simply. Just roll the cursor over the section you want and click „Trim start and end,‟ and it displays your section immediately.

There are many effects like echo, amplification, speed/pitch changes, remove hum/hiss, and noise reduction. WavePad works as a wav or mp3 editor and supports a number of other file formats including vox, gsm, wma, real audio, au, aif, flac and ogg. WavePad has recently updated and now includes Spectral Analysis (FFT) and Temporal Frequency Analysis (TFFT) and supports sample rates from 6000 to 96000Hz, stereo or mono, 8, 16, 24 or 32 bits. This is an easy to use software package especially if you are getting started in audio editing in

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EVP recording. Most effects and tools have a „preview‟ icon and many effects such a „Noise reduction‟ will open a further window explaining in brackets the affect this will have on your audio—handy tool for those learning. WavePad once offered a unlimited free download but since upgrading, it has a 3 month Download Trial Period and then it is disabled until purchase. This is still quite an adequate time span to learn what you can from this starting out package and you may be very happy with WavePad and purchase or consider trialing another program that is more challenging such as GoldWave, which we will review in the next ParaNexus Newsletter. One note about audio editing in EVP: please be aware that these software programs are for listening to raw audio. They all come with many 'bells & whistles' so be careful using 'Effects' on your audio recordings as this could distort the recordings to a point that you can manipulate or misrepresent environmental noise to sound like possible spoken words. We will endeavour to address this subject in the ParaNexus Forum and as a part of ParaNexus EVP research and development.

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H a u n t i n g , a n d C r y p t o z o o l o g i c a l E x p e d i t i o n B r o a d c a s t

Watch the Live Event • Chat with Investigators! 2 Nights: Mon/Tue Nov. 23/24, 2009 • Broadcast begins at approximately 11pm Eastern

This live event is a UFO and haunting/parapsychological investigation combined with a cryptozoological expedition in Cedar Key, Florida. Reported UFO and haunting activity as well as Swamp Ape (Bigfoot) activity in the area will be investigated. A live table-tipping demonstration will also be conducted. The investigation will begin around 11pm each night and last several hours. Four ParaNexus Board Members as well as a CPFI member and CPI member will conduct the investigation along with the property owner. This is not a hotel investigation. More details will be provided on each night of the broadcast. This event is free for members. Non-members may register for $10 for both nights at www.paranexus.org/forum/ index.php?page=214.

Members: Free! Non-Members may register for this event at www.paranexus.org/forum/index.php?page=214

ELSEWHERE ON THE WEB

Where else can you find us on the internet? Come join ParaNexus on:

www.ParaNexus.org Join Today! ParaNexus is a professional non-profit association of dedicated and progressive ufologists, parapsychologists, and enthusiasts focused on researching and understanding the human condition through the scientific study of aerial, psychical, and anomalous phenomena, its reality, its reach, and its impact on humanity.

www.ParaNexus.org/store The ParaNexus Resource Shoppe provides aids to research and investigation including training courses, log books, ID Badges, and more.

www.ParaNexusAcademy.org The ParaNexus Academy offers a growing list of paranormal and personal growth courses that are affordable and comprehensive. Our instructors are skilled and knowledgeable in the topics they teach. All courses are conducted online and may feature live video sessions, online content, instructor articles and books, and additional activities and material.