M.J. Rose

In a study reported by the British Medical Journal it was discovered that connections make us happier.

“The same team that demonstrated obesity and smoking spread in networks has shown that the more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy.

And getting connected to happy people improves a person’s own happiness…”

This of course comes as no surprise for those of us who religiously use social networks and connect via blogs, websites, and email. I can vouch that when I am in touch with old friends and new friends over the internet I do feel more connected in general and that makes me happier. However, if these electronic connections were my ONLY connections to other humans I think the idea would backfire. We need real human interaction to feel truly alive.

Here is some Reincarnationist homework for the rest of the week: Reach out to at least one of your online connections in person. Meet up at a park, a cafe, or invite them over for dinner. I dare you. (And then please come back and let us know in a comment how that interaction made you feel.)

Paranormal researchers need us to believe in things such as orbs in order to continue their life’s work, so are these researchers really the best folks to be doing the research? It’s certainly not “science”. Is there some better way to conduct such experiments? I think that the credibility of the paranormal community would benefit from more unbiased research.

Judge for yourself:

Paranormal investigators record orb attack in abandoned hotel/nursing home
by Patricia Marin, Ghost Hunting Examiner

In Nomine Paranormal Research (INPR), based in Fort Wayne, IN, recently participated in an investigation of the Hotel Rieger in Sandusky, OH with Erie Paranormal Research. INPR is a group of professional paranormal investigators formed to advance the knowledge of paranormal activity. Through the use of state-of-the-art equipment and scientific principles, they seek to produce positive quantifiable evidence of the existence of spirits, portals, paranormal energy, and the afterlife. Rob Stone and Megan Price from INPR made the three hour journey to Sandusky. The investigation began at approximately 6:30 pm and lasted into the night.

The Hotel Rieger has gone through several incarnations, including stints as a nursing home and a bed and breakfast, finally closing its doors in 1996. It has stood vacant since then and is currently owned by the city of Sandusky.

Rob reports that the majority of the activity apparently centers on the fifth floor. Paranormal activities include footsteps, shadows, and voices. The ghost of a small child is thought to haunt the entire hotel, although his or her identify is unknown.

When Orbs Attack

Investigators covered all five floors of the hotel, along with the basement. While conducting an EVP session in one of the rooms, they heard footsteps in the hallway, although they were alone on the floor at that time. They also captured an interesting orb event on the remote DVR camera – click on the hyperlink to check it out. The orb streaks down the hallway toward the camera; then, just as it reaches the camera…[the rest]

It’s a miracle! Oh no, it’s not

Hotline to heaven: Pope Benedict is concerned by the explosion of ‘mystics’ who claim they can speak to God

As the recession deepens, religious observers are braced for an upturn in visions and apparitions of the Virgin Mary and other supernatural Catholic phenomena.

Stigmata, the strange bodily marks resembling the wounds of the crucified Jesus, may again start to appear regularly.

Statues and icons are expected to bleed, weep and move around, as the world faces its greatest economic crisis since the 1930s.

In the depths of the recession of the 1980s, with unemployment rising in Ireland and a prevailing mood of hopelessness, statues began to shift mysteriously.

Devotion to icons that come alive may be a comfort in insecure times, but the current Pope would prefer Catholics to remain silent about these alleged miracles after they have witnessed them.

Pope Benedict was this week reported to be deeply concerned by the explosion in the number of “pseudo-mystics” who claim a hotline to God. Like many within the traditional hierarchy, he is afraid that these witnesses end up in conflict with the Church and lure the Catholic faithful out of the pews and into cult-like groups.

In a bid to halt the apparition boom, the Pope has ordered a thorough investigation to be carried out into the visionaries and their sponsors.

New guidelines are being drawn up for local bishops on how to tackle them. It is the biggest clampdown on phoney apparitions and their associated industries for decades…

Read the complete article here.