An open mind works both ways
One of the credentials that one insists that a paranormal investigator should have is somewhat of an open mind. An open mind to all of the possibilities both paranormal and rational. It is important to remember to tread on both sides of the fence and not just stick to the one side, regardless of your beliefs.
I personally won’t participate in any paranormal group discussions on Facebook. It is not because I don’t want to support everyone, because I really do. It is because I don’t last long in there. I either witness or unwillingly become a part of an argument and I get upset and leave. It is for the same reason that I won’t review photos sent to me. It seems that people don’t want to hear what I have to say, even though they have asked. The reason for this? What I have to say isn’t what they want me to say. If you know me or read the blog, you would have to know that if you send or show me a photo for example, I am going to give you every rational explanation out there as to why your camera or smart phone would be able to do this. I am not saying that you haven’t had a paranormal experience or trying to take anything away from you, I am just stating real information that I know to be true. If I see a photo I cannot debunk, while I would still be sceptical, it would fall into my ‘that’s interesting category’.
I don’t call anything paranormal. The most you will get out of me is ‘that’s interesting’. Just because I can’t debunk it, doesn’t mean it isn’t something normal. On the other end of the fence, just because I can debunk something, doesn’t mean that is what it is. It could very well be something else. I cannot deny that I have had experiences that other people could explain, but I know within myself there feels to be something more. Just because we can or cannot explain something, doesn’t mean that is the final ruling. It means it is just one of many possibilities. This is where the open mind comes in. We need to be open minded to all of the rational possibilities. We can’t get too caught up in hoping that our brilliant capture is paranormal because you will be stretching to find someone credible in the field to label it that. We have to be open to the fact that it could just be our camera playing a trick on us. On the other hand, we also have to be open to the fact that just because we can explain it, doesn’t mean that something wasn’t happening at the time. This is why we have to be open to all of the possibilities.
When you are in a group discussion, there are quite often a lot of people that post pieces of evidence which can clearly be debunked by someone with a little bit of knowledge in the paranormal field. As frustrating as it is, we need to tread carefully and remember that most of the people that are posting this sort of evidence, are not investigators out in the field. They don’t know a lot of the fancy terms or brain tricks we all know about. Don’t treat them like an idiot. Treat them how you would like to be treated and explain nicely what it could be. If they don’t want to listen to you, then that is fine, you tried. Don’t get nasty and don’t engage, because what is the point? It is going to leave you angry and frustrated and they probably don’t even really care.
If you are posting a photo or evidence in a group and someone comes in to give you an opinion. Listen to it. Don’t become emotionally attached to your evidence. The likelihood something is actually paranormal is honestly slim to none. If you don’t want to hear that your amazing photo is not paranormal and is something natural, then don’t post it. Don’t open that door. Why do you need their validation anyway if you know what you believe? If you are going to put something up, you have to be open minded to the possibility that it isn’t what you think or want it to be.
Let’s try to be a bit kinder to one another and try to stop a lot of the bullshit fighting. There are a lot of fights and things I see that really don’t need to happen. I see a lot of comments in general attacking people based on their belief. I thought Facebook was bad but Twitter can be really brutal too as I recently discovered. Sometimes people are very stuck on their cause. Whether they believe or they are skeptical they seem to very stubborn in their view and at times aggressive about their view in order to get their point across. There are a lot of great resources of articles online that can help educate people. Use articles from my site that is why they are there to explain things to people. There are a lot of other great articles and websites from other people in the field with the same. Even YouTube has some great videos to explain things as well. Speak how you would want someone to speak to you. With respect. There is no need to be nasty.
At the end of the day, some people can’t be told, but it shouldn't have to affect you. Keep a level head and remain open minded. Remember that not everything is paranormal, but sometimes, it could be pretty interesting!
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