Ever since I was a child I have maintained a fascination with the "supernatural." Although after years of experience, and being formally educated in mental processes, I've come to realize that many of my childhood fantasies are just that; fantasies. There will always remain a glimmer of hope within me that other worldly things can be explained scientifically as being other worldly, and not always be debunked and accredited to psychological and physiological processes. A while back a work colleague of mine had engaged in a conversation with me about the paranormal and his inability to accept it as being real. I respect his opinion, and for the most part I agree with him. Without substantial proof of there being an afterlife, or demons, or even monsters, why should I believe any of it? How long ago was it that people believed sin made crops grow dry? Or when the world was flat? There are many things that humans have believed which turned out to be absolute crap. Other than disproving various accounts of paranormal activity, what advances have been made in paranormal science? After hundreds of years, what have we got to show for it? Nothing. Perhaps it will always be nothing. I don't really have a problem with that. I feel that like religion, the belief in something supernatural is merely a solution to death anxiety. It exists only for the sake of comfort. But what if we do find something? As I had mentioned before I mostly agreed with my colleague; a part of me believes there are bigger things we have yet to understand. Just because we can't see it doesn't necessarily mean it isn't there. I may sound like I'm contradicting myself, and perhaps I am; I'll explain this thoroughly. I do not believe we can fly, or cast spells on each other, or that we can have OBEs. I believe people think they can. What I do belive in is that there are species of animals we have yet to discover. I do feel there are functions of the mind that we have yet to understand; but are either of these paranormal? A couple hundred years ago optical illusions would have been considered paranormal, but research in perception has proven otherwise. Paranomal is a word that can only be applied to something prior to its explanation; after it has been analyzed and proven to be true it would have to be accepted as a natural part of life. The word "para" means outside of, or against, and it goes against what's normal. It's ironic that so many die-hard believers wish to prove the paranormal, but in doing so it would only make it less paranormal. The world of alternative science still has its work cut out for it; I remain a skeptic of the supernatural, but my inner child continues to dream.
The reason I wanted to discuss my feelings in regards to the paranormal is because I didn't want to break into this entry without properly introducing my viewpoint on a subject of controversy. This entry will no doubt start some eye rolling, or maybe excite enthusiasts of the supernatural. I only saw it befitting to familiarize you, the reader, with my personal stance on such matters so that you won't be surprized if I suddenly start spouting out comments that are in direct opposition to your beliefs. I'm not trying to piss people off, and I'm also not trying to change your opinions. I'm just aware that some people are overly sensitive to these things. So, I'd like to get on with it!
 |
| Photo from WilliamFuld.com -Similar to my board only fibre board. |
Thanks to the boom in parlor séances,
divination games, and the first World War, many people were desperate
to get in contact with their departed loved ones, and the Ouija board
became the perfect conduit to the spirit world. The ability to
communicate with the dead was at your finger tips, a new seemingly
real way to make contact, but was it? To many it appeared that way.
Anyone who has lost a loved one will admit to the shock, confusion,
and desperation that they experienced shortly after the death. Your
mind struggles to accept the loss, but you just can't. You need
closure, you need to have them back, you need to tell them all the
things you never had a chance to say. The Ouija preys on that
desperation. It wasn't of course invented for that reason; in fact a
quick overview of my instruction booklet speaks more to the old
fashion parlor games played at Halloween or on New Years. Questions
like when will I meet my love? Will they be handsome? Will I be rich?
It plays out more like an 8-ball than a door to another world. In
fact there is no mention of contacting spirits whatsoever. The most
my booklet ventures to say is “...apparently forming the link which
unites the known with the unknown; the material with the immaterial.”
It's primary focus is fortune and truth telling, not ghosts.
Considering you can ask the board anything it's no doubt that
eventually people asked about their loved ones, and it evolved to be
used in séances. Some people believed they were speaking with their
loved one, and wrote to Fuld with great praise and appreciation for
the device, while other more religious types would condemn the board
and write spitefully to him. The most depressing letter I had come
across was written by a young man, who to my recollection was
desperate to win the affection of a girl and said he would kill
himself if he couldn't have her. The board, from what I can remember,
either instructed the boy to approach her, or give her a letter to
win her love. Basically the young man took it to an extreme level of
belief. The board practically dictated the way his life would unfold,
and that's wholly depressing. What's more, people are still like this
today. 
I have no problem with people
maintaining spiritual belief, but there can be
unhealthy degrees of belief, especially if they threaten your
well-being. I recall a while back when I was working in a department
store, I had been approached by a young woman, probably sixteen or
seventeen, with her male friend. They were acting strangely. I was a
weird kid, but not this weird. They were giggling and mumbling to
themselves, and acting erratically. I thought perhaps they were
stoned out of their minds, or just messed up. Either way, I had to do
my job, so I asked if I could help them. The girl was desperate to
get a hold of a Ouija board, I of course took her to toys to get it
for her. They were asking questions, which I'd answer, but they
wouldn't even listen to me, because they'd talk right over me. I was
pretty annoyed with them. The girl was insistent on knowing if the
board was “safe.” I laughed a little and said “yeah, it's
produced by Parker Brothers.” She stood there pretty dumbfounded,
then went on in a ramble being like “I need it to be safe, don't
you think it should be safe?” Blah, blah, blah blah. She also
needed to look at the board thoroughly, where I explained that it's
just masonite with a sticker, and a glow-in-the-dark planchette. I
had made an attempt to explain that even if the board really worked,
it wouldn't be the board doing the work but the person themselves
(which I thoroughly believe in), but this chick was in outer space
and probably wasn't even aware of my existence. Her friend and her
bought the board, giggling, and left. I don't have much patience for
people, and I am surprised I had any patience for those two. It's
clear they didn't even make an attempt to research about the board,
they were mislead into thinking that it is a legitimate and dangerous
spiritual device. Well, it's not. I don't care if Long Island Medium,
or Sylvia Browne, or any other dork tells you differently; it's a
toy. Do weird things happen with them? Probably. Are all apparently
paranormal things fake? Until proven otherwise. I'm sure many of you
have used a board and contacted a loved one and had them say things
that nobody else could possibly know, but there are so many
contributing factors to take into account. Like the age old question,
who's pushing the planchette? We all have had the trouble-maker
friend who takes it upon themselves to lead the séance, and by lead
I mean pretty much make up every answer on purpose. Even in groups
which you think are absolutely 100% serious believers, there's still
a good chance someone is faking. Another thing to consider is the
sub-conscious. We do a lot of things without thinking, or at least
actively thinking. You may not realize you're pushing the planchette
and answering your own questions, but on a sub-conscious level you
are. Haven't you ever found the answers to be too perfect to be true?
Or maybe you start saying the answer aloud before the board is
finished spelling the words? Involuntary muscle spasms or twitches in
the fingertips have also been suggested as a contributing factor to
the movement of the planchette, although this can only really account
for part of the movement, as your arms push the planchette around
also; perhaps the finger spasms influence the movement of the arm.
Overall, what I'm trying to get at here is that there are a plethora
of explanations for why the board doesn't really work, and only one
for why it does.
Why
does it work? Because you believe it does. That doesn't mean it
actually works, but if you believe it does how can any of us tell you
otherwise? If you have a strong enough belief in something, you can
convince yourself it's real, even if it isn't. The power of the mind
is an interesting thing and it begs further investigation. Maybe we
are psychic to a degree, but as it stands right now we're ordinary
people with ordinary powers. I truly feel that it is important to
remember the Ouija board is just for entertainment purposes. It is
meant to be a fun and exciting experience, not for you to gain a fake
closure to a loved one's death, not for you to “know” what you'll
be like in the future. The answers you look for really reside within
you, not the board. You are the key to healing and overcoming the
loss of someone. You are the one that makes the decisions for your
future, not the board. I'll close my post off with the fourth step in
my instruction booklet,
“4th – The Ouija is a great mystery, and we do not claim to give exact directions for its management, neither do we claim that at all times and under all circumstances, it will work equally well, but we do claim, that with reasonable patience and judgment it will more than satisfy your greatest expectations.”
