From Our Viewpoint

One thing that I truly love about life is how much there is that we still really don’t know about and how many things there are yet to learn.  Even with our modern science and technology, we are still in the dark about many things in the world, the universe and life.  We go about our daily lives accepting many things as fact about our reality when in actuality these facts are simply based on some scientific hypothesis that we were taught in school.

We watched a program on PBS’s Nova last night about our run away universe.  In it, several astrophysicists discussed, what was to them, the shocking fact that the universe is expanding rather than contracting as most of us previously accepted as fact.  They even admitted that this expansion is, in fact, accelerating.  These scientists are saying that a third of the universe is vacuum and matter, and two thirds is composed of an unknown energy that they are calling “Dark Energy.”  This dark energy is what is causing the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Albert Einstein is said to have been embarrassed about proposing something similar to dark energy in the form of a Universal Constant.  The astrophysicists, who have once again proposed the existence of this type of energy, surmised that Einstein would be jumping with glee at this new evidence supporting his theories.

Isn’t it amazing that they are talking about two thirds of our universe being comprised of an energy that is not yet understood?  Remember that the earth and ourselves are certainly a part of the universe and so we are right at this minute surrounded by this energy.

One astrophysicist said that he could accept that the universe was “infinite” and that the universe goes on forever.  Many of us in AA-EVP know that we do not die and that death is merely a change into another dimension or frequency.  Thus, we know that we are also infinite and that we also go on forever.  Have these scientists found a new way of proving what we have known for so long?

In the dark energy, Tom and I believe that one-day science will find evidence of etheric energy.  There has to be an interface between our physical reality and the non-physical reality that those who we talk to on the other side live in.  Perhaps this research into dark energy will one-day provide proof of this other reality.

When you pick this up to read, the year will be 2001.  I remember a major debate that took place before the year 2000.  That debate centered on the question of when the millennium really did start.  Some authorities said that the millennium really did not begin until the year 2001.  So, one could say that, if you didn’t like the first beginning of the millennium, you could decide to start the millennium with the year 2001.

Thinking about starting over, one of the things that I have learned in my time on earth is that not getting what I thought I wanted is often the best thing that could have ever happened to me.  With hind site, I often look back at what I thought was a disappointment only to find that it resulted in a greater good in my life.  I think we all have stories about the relationship that went wrong only to open the door for the one that was really perfect, or the job that was lost only to bring a more satisfying one.  Not getting what we want in life can be a wonderful stroke of luck.

The New Year is an event that society has chosen as a time for reflection.  It is an opportunity to look back at the past year and what we have done in it and decide on changes that we want to make in our lives and our future behavior.  We really don’t need a “New Year” to do this.  We can simply change the way we think, and what we are thinking about at any second, and totally change our reality.  “Thought” is another energy that is little understood.  Like the astrophysicist “Dark Energy” causing an accelerating expansion of the universe, our thoughts are an energy that create our own personal universe.

We wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.                                           Lisa

2001 and AA-EVP

We want to say a very special thank you to the members of the AA-EVP for the outstanding support and help you provided in the year 2000.  How could we have imagined that the year 2000 would bring members the shocking news of Sarah’s retirement, and the challenge of our continuing the Association that she started in 1982?  The members showed their support and the AA-EVP continues into the new millennium.  Thank you, or as a dear friend of ours says, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

After six months of trying, the AA-EVP web site can now be found on Yahoo’s search engine, and other search engines are also picking it up.  The site has been getting at least 75 hits (people logging on to take a look) a week, and we are excited that it is proving to be a good method of spreading the word about EVP.

The AA-EVP continues to need the help of its members to live on.  We want to hear from you.  Let us know what you are doing, what you are recording, and what you read about that you think would be of interest to members.

Submissions for the Spring Newsletter need to be in by March 1, 2001.

Participate in a Joint Experiment

We would like everyone to join us in getting together for EVP group taping sessions.  We will record every Sunday at 6pm Pacific and 9pm Eastern, for four weeks starting on February 4, 2001.  Please join in one or all of the sessions as your time permits.  We do not claim that we will get earth shaking results doing this.  It is simply a way for us all to do something together and let those on the other side have a chance to work with our group energy.

We suggest you keep the taping session short so that you can listen carefully to what you record; however we want you to record in your normal fashion.  Begin as usual, but also say that you are participating in an AA-EVP group taping session.  We have provided a list of questions for each experiment.  We would like you to incorporate these questions into your recording session at the arranged time.  Three questions will change each week with the last question remaining the same.

Questions for February 4:

1.    Where do you speak to us from?

2.    What is it like where you live?

3.    What happens when we die?

4.    Who has been speaking with me?

Questions for February 11:

1.    Are there people, where you are who work to assist this type of communication     

       between us? If so how do they do this?

2.    Why do you communicate with us?

3.    What can we do to improve this communication?

4.    Who has been speaking with me?

Questions for February 18:

1.    What helps to bring your voices through?

2.    How do you find us when we are recording?

3.    What do we look like to you from where you are?

4.    Who has been speaking with me?

Question for February 25:

1.    What is the most important thing that we should do while we are on the earth?

2.    How can we help build a bridge of communications between our worlds?

3.    Do you think that several of us taping at the same time helps and why?

4.    Who has been speaking with me?

Please send your results to us each week via regular mail or by Email.  We will put together the results for the next newsletter.  Depending on participation, we may not be able to publish each and every message.  The results for the last session will need to be to us by March 1 so that we have time to put them in the April newsletter.

Let’s have a good time doing this!

Frequency Shifts in EVP Reception
by Bill (Dutch) Weisensale
(Editor's Note: Bill's letter has been edited to fit in this space)

There is not one, but rather three frequencies that are mentioned in connection with EVP reception.  The first is unknown, the second immaterial, and the third is actually a range of frequencies which are fixed by their very nature.

First is the hypothesis that spirits vibrate and that this vibration is at a very high but unknown frequency.  And furthermore, that they must lower their frequency to communicate with us here in the material world.  Whether this is true or not, this matter is up to our spirit friends to do whatever is necessary to communicate with us.

The second frequency is the tuning frequency of the radio receiver when the radio method is used.  There is, in my opinion, ample evidence that our spirit friends are quite incapable of either generating or transmitting radio/TV signals.  And that in the radio method, the receiver is simply used as a white noise (in this case static) generator or sound source.  Otherwise we would have to use a radio receiver at all times in EVP reception and the receiver would have to be precisely tuned, just as we do when we tune in the weather report on a local radio station.  Obviously such is not the case.  EVP voices have been recorded on radios from less than 1 mega Hertz to nearly 1 giga Hertz.  Many tapers use the airband where there is cleaner static with much less interference from ordinary radio signals.

One advantage of using an electronic white noise generator, is that it eliminates one of the main objections to EVP, which is of course, that we are simply hearing scraps of transmissions from distant radio stations.  It may also be that electronic noise, which seems to be somewhat more smooth than static, may lend itself better to the noise reduction part of the Cool Edit program. (Now Audition: http://www.adobe.com/products/audition/main.html)

The third frequency mentioned is the voiceband.  The frequencies of EVP voices are essentially the same as normal spoken voices (300-3,000 Hertz). Since frequency is one of the primary characteristics of the voice, any shift in frequencies would cause mild to gross distortion of the voice, depending on the degree of shift.  For example, a shift to even slightly lower frequencies would cause a female voice to sound like a male voice.  In my own work, I have never noted any such frequency shift.  Females always sound female, and males always sound male.

I recommend learning to use the Cool Edit program.  It can be considerable help in improving voice quality.  It provides advanced electronic voice editing for improved EVP analysis--an idea originated by Alexander MacRae.

Recording Techniques

AA-EVP member and Coordinator of the Institute of TransCommunication  (IoTC) [closed-- now World ITC with Mark Macy], Rolf-Dietmar Ehrhardt posted an article to the AA-EVP Egroup that we believe will be of interest to all of you.  Remember that there are many possible variations of this method. Digested from rodiehr 021200. email address, http://www.worlditc.org/

How to get fast EVP/ITC Contacts!

Referring to consciousness science research, Prof. Dr. Resch, University of Innsbruck, Austria wrote: "The phenomena should not and can not be adapted to the research methods. Just the opposite: the research methods have to be adapted to the phenomena."

EVP/ITC experimenters have favorite ways to record. Success means that the experimenter makes contact with every try.  Success also means that the messages received are of the quality that makes it easy to understand what was said and to find out who has said it.

These are steps that I believe will lead you to achieving fast EVP/ITC contacts.

1. You should not have had too much personal stress in the hours before recording.

2. If you have had a troubling day, calm down by listening to music you like, reading a book or taking a walk.

3. Sittings should not become routine; look forward to it.

4. You should be comfortable in the room you record in.

5. Anything that will put you in a good mood is helpful: candles, fragrances, certain illumination, flowers, arrangement of the furniture and so on.

6. Protect yourself: have no fear, do not have a negative attitude and do not be dependent on expected messages. Think positive!!!

7. If you are attempting to contact a particular person, set the tone of the session with a statement something like, "I wish to contact (name).  I am looking forward to this contact.  If we are not successful then no problem will result and we will try again later."

8. Concentrate on one person to contact in a session.  Have a picture of the person you seek to contact. Concentrate on this person by thinking positive. Remember the good times! The more emotion the better.

9. In the beginning, just a simple tape recorder, external microphone and a new cassette will do. Make sure that the microphone does not pick up noise from outside of the room.  The entities indicate a problem with our time so a metronome or a noisy clock may be used for background noise and to solve this problem.

10. At the beginning of the recording state the date, time and name of the people present.  Ask for contact by naming the person. What you ask is up to you, but leave periods between questions for the entity to speak.  Keep your thoughts focused on contact.

11. When you are successful using this or another recording method, continue to use the method and try to improve the contacts.  They will tell you from beyond if you should change something!

Member's Video Images and Setup

Earland Babcock has provided us with a number of interesting images taken from video, and an explanation of how the recordings were made.

 Earland writes that he operated a TV recording studio, in which, he used a Panasonic vidicon camera.  The camera was focused on a 25-inch commercial, high-resolution monitor/receiver in the monitor mode. The output of the camera was fed through a Time Base Corrector (TBC), then through a video enhancer, and then back to the monitor. Thus, there was a loop in which the camera saw what the monitor displayed, and the monitor displayed what the camera saw.

The camera was a few inches from the picture tube and slightly out of focus.  In this way, the usual picture within a picture was not displayed.

Earland recorded for just a few minutes and then reviewed the tape a frame at a time.  He then took a photograph of the most interesting frames with an ordinary camera.  Earland did not specify who he wanted to see nor did he know any of the people or the scenes in the pictures.

Not all frames had pictures, and sometimes a week would pass without an image.

Some images appear to be bird's eye views of clouds or land.  We have included an image of a man and an entity that many would describe as an extraterrestrial.

Developing a Standard Test Bed

When the EVP history of our time is written, considerable space will be devoted to our search for better ways to communicate with our unseen friends.  Perhaps future historians will compare our efforts to those of early avionics pioneers.  It is a good comparison, because at one time, it seemed that nothing would fly.  Today, it seems that anything will fly.  All it took was the breakthrough understanding that lift was caused by the uneven flow of air over a wing.  Will EVP researchers have a similar realization?

Even after years of research, the microphone remains the most reliable EVP detector.  Still, of the various factors of EVP recording, it is the EVP detector that is most open for improvement.  It is a little like a telephone call.  The agreement to communicate and the contents of the communication are people issues. What researchers seek is a better EVP (telephone) circuit.

Several AA-EVP members have been collaborating to build a test bed on which EVP detectors can be tried in a controlled way.  They hope that this control will yield a clear understanding of what does and does not work.

As shown in the block diagram, the approach uses four modules that can be independently changed.  The energy source may be sound or light or . . ..  The discriminator will be designed to help distinguish the voice from the energy source.  And of course, there is the usual recorder  or computer and speaker.  The real area of experimentation will be in the detector, which can be anything from a microphone to a plasma field.

There is much more to this design, and you should know that the test bed is still in a block diagram stage of development.  Actual construction of the first design will probably not occur until next spring. There are many personal things individuals can do to improve message content.  It is the hardware part of the circuit that EVP/ITC researchers around the world are working to improve.

EVP on a Baldwin Organ

We received this letter in October from Mena in Texas and wondered if anyone had tried recording in this way.

My Practice of Video ITC
By Guy Révol

Jacque Blanc-Garin has translated this article for AA-EVP from The Messenger. (Jacque Blanc-Garin, INFINITUDE, Le Mesnil des Fretils, F-27250 LES BOTTEREAUX France, email address)  The translation is approximate.

-----------------------------------------------

I came to work with video a few years ago because of audio ITC. After having heard in my messages: "Video, television," I decided to buy a television set, video recorder and camera.  This material remained waiting in my office until the day I clearly heard on an audiotape: "And the video it is for when?"  Then I decided to begin, and I want to thank Infinitude, as well as Mrs. Sagnes, who have helped me in this way of research.

The first photo that appeared was of my father, which was also recognized by my wife.  This photo quickly disappeared. After that I received many faces.

In video ITC we find the same thing as we have in audio ITC.  By this, I mean that the person's image appears or disappears on movies that have already been seen, and it is necessary to decipher some of the pictures.  If we are told to stop, it is necessary to stop, because nothing will appear if one persists.

I was lucky to see my father. He was recognized by my mother and my family as well.  I also received the face of the mother of Yves Linès, recognized by him.  And spontaneously I have received pictures of Maurice, my nephew, my sister-in-law, the grandmother of Maud Bothéreau, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Darley of Valencia who was in the accident of plane number 800 and whose mom was contacted by automatic writing, and a lot of other unknowns.

I practice the Klaus Schreiber method, but without amplifier, infrared or ultraviolet light, only a black and white television screen, a video recorder and a black and white camera. I record with my screen on an empty channel and without antenna. After that, I have to review the tape frame by frame in order to find a good picture. I do that on my television or on my computer. Currently I work with a numeric tuner on my computer and results seem promising.

I have noticed that the received material is not the most important part!  Our friends from beyond had to try this new means of communication to prove to us that life exists after physical death.  These faces appear so that they can be recognized by those to whom they are addressed in order to testify to this fact. The best proof is the recognition by those who knew the deceased person.  (This explains why it is almost always the concerned person to recognize the image).

Some persons tell us that it is autosuggestion, but when I call on a deceased person that I never knew, nor have I ever seen in a photograph, and then a face appears spontaneously and is recognized by their loved ones, doubt is not possible!

Unknown man, picture obtained with numeric tuner on computer.

Sarah, do you really believe EVP is Real?

We have received many letters asking about how Sarah Estep is doing.  We are happy to report that she is doing better.  Just like other things that Sarah has done in her life, she has turned out to be an excellent mentor.  We can’t thank her enough for the time and support she has given to us to make sure that the AA-EVP continues on.

A recent letter to her asks, “Do you really believe this EVP is real?”  Here is her response:

Sarah’s letter goes on to give Harold information on the AA-EVP and how to get in touch with us, as does her answers to all letters that she receives like this.

Members of the Egroup have the opportunity to read Sarah’s comments on a regular basis.  She shares the wisdom gained from her years of EVP experience in many of the discussions and questions being asked in this group.  If you are not in the Egroup and are a member, have a computer and are online, you can join by simply letting us know that you would like to be added to the Egroup.

News From and About Our Members

•    Chris Peterson and Nancy Kimball head up the Utah Ghost Hunters Society.  They use EVP extensively when doing an investigation and have many examples of EVP on their excellent web site at www.ghostwave.com.  Chris wrote that they are finding most of their EVP in the ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) range of the spectrum.  This is 0 to 300HZ.  They use Cool Edit 2000 to clean and analyze their EVP recordings.  If you have access to the web, you will want to take a look at their web site or you can write to them at UGHS: Address withheld.
  

•    Sonia Rinaldi, Brazil, wrote that the talk with demonstrations of ITC contacts she did at the Forum Espirito e Ciencia in Brasilia was a tremendous success.  Sonia launched her third book for the year 2000 at the forum.  She wrote that the book is “specially important because it relates the first really scientific project conducted about ITC.  The results of the 5 months researching are impressive.  Some positive points and some negative ones…that we have to learn to deal with about the phenomena.”
  

•    Keli Adams, PA, has a new book called The Arrival is the Departure due out in the early spring of 2001. Keli is a flight attendant, and she wrote that the book “is based on the true accounts of her childhood.  It is similar to the story of the little boy in the movie, The Sixth Sense, her gifts as a spirit communicator like Whoopi Goldberg in the movie, Ghost, and her amazing life as a psychic flight attendant.”  You can find out more about the book at http://users.penn.com/~kadams/ or by writing to Keli at: Addresses withheld.

Thoughts From Members

•    Scott Preston, VA, wrote, “The sound of the sea inside a sea shell, is the sound of the natural sounds in the environment bouncing around until they become random white noise like sounds.  It is the randomness, which homogenizes the sound into a sound resembling the ocean.

"Interestingly, experiments done at Duke University in PK (Psychokinesis) show that PK is more effective when the randomness of the events is increased.  If mind can best impress randomness then this might offer a hypothesis for creation, since the universe would have been at its most random point just after the Big Bang.

"Perhaps a seashell could be used with great effect.  It has the hard inner surface necessary to reflect sound, it is wide at one end and narrow at the other like a spirit horn, and it spirals in the phi ratio of sacred geometry, which is supposed to be transcendental.  An acoustical physicist might be able to tell you how large the opening of a spirit trumpet should be to accommodate the mid range frequencies of the human voice.  It might also be possible to construct a spirit trumpet that ran in a spiral like the shell.  Such constructions could be either large or small, straight or spiraled.  Noise reduction equipment could be used to bring out the voices.  I never tried this but I've thought about it in the past.”

•    Erland Babcock, VA, wrote, “The use of a Conch Shell might be a good idea to try.  I have used what is called a "folded horn" from a windup victrola (I still have it) It did not seem to work for me.  However, each person is different.  What may work for me does not mean it will work for you.”
  

•    Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA, wrote about something that we have personally experienced.  “I have noticed over the years, that whenever I try a ‘new’ experiment, the results most often are excellent and so, I think I am really on to something.  But upon continuation of that method, it invariably fails to live up to the first try.”
  

•    Eleanor Katz, FL, wrote “I am interested in participating in EVP and I find the whole field of parapsychology amazing.  What I want to share is a new method of inducing after-death communications.  This was reported on in the Journal of Near-Death Studies, Volume 18, Number 3, Spring 2000 in an article by Allan L. Botkin, Psy.D.  No mediums are necessary and most people seem to be successful who are willing and able to participate in the procedure.  It appears to be like a near death experience for those who communicate and is very easy to do.  The technique is known as EMDR or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing.  To quote from the article, ‘it has been known for some time that the shifting of the eyes is associated with increased brain processing....that a purposeful shifting of the eyes causes an increase in the brain's ability to process information.’ One of the suggestions in the article is to hold the thought of the deceased person.  Close your eyes for a period of time following each set of EMDR which is simply slowly rolling your eyes back and forth.”  Eleanor goes on to say that the article is written for psychotherapists to use this technique.

Quotes

"… the first demonstration of existence after death, in such a way that it can be registered on the physical plane, will come via the radio …" (written February, 1944, and published in the book Esoteric Healing, by Alice A. Bailey, p.378)

"Through the use of the radio by those who have passed over will communication eventually be set up and reduced to a true science" (written about 1934 by the same author and published in Esoteric Psychology, Vol.  I, page 184)

David J. Gaines, a California member, provided these quotes.  He writes that both books are still available and that the quotes occur in a context of highly intelligent discussion of life after death.

Tapers Report

•    Renata Barbarigo, FL, wrote to us to let us know she records and receives EVP in her own language, which is Italian.  She receives her messages between station 12 and 13 on the short wave radio where there is only white noise.  Renata says that she became clairaudient and heard her husband whispering in her ear.  One morning he told her to take her 35mm camera and take a picture on the television so that she could see him.  He told her that this was because she did not believe that it was him talking in her ear.  Renata sent us a copy of this picture.  We found that the image got lost when we tried to print it, but if you would like to see the picture you can go to the AA-EVP web site at http://aaevp.com.
  

•    Carol Barron-Karajohn, MA, wrote, “A good friend passed away about a year ago.  Yesterday, I asked him to come through and answer a question.  He was not an atheist, but had his own idea about God and often told me that he believed in a higher power, but felt that 'God' was 'electricity' or something of that nature, since our very being is made of electrical impulses.  I brought up the subject and asked if he still believed that were true.  A high pitched voice sang, 'Nooooooo!'”
  

•    Clara Laughlin, VA, wrote that she had received a message from her sister-in-law, “I leave the earth with Cautioness.”  Clara said that this was very evidential as her sister-in-law had been afraid to die.
  

•    Alexander MacRae, Scotland, joined in on one of the group experiments.  He recorded, “Talking from Jubilloh” using his holophonics prototype.  He sent us a copy of this class A recording over the Internet.  It was very interesting to listen to as the sound is very different from what we get using the usual recording techniques.
  

•    Bill Weber, FL, reported that when he asked the question, “What may we do to help you come through?” a voice responded with the word “Light.”
  

•    Edna Drake, Canada, wrote that on the night of the first Egroup Experiment she had received a faint, “Edna.”  The next day she was thinking of her sister, Doreen, who she had so much wanted to hear from.  She silently mentioned to her sister that she would be taping at 6:15 that evening.  On her recording that night she got, “This is Doreen.”
  

•    Sandra Belanger, CA, asked what those on the other side thought of a group taping and got a Men's chorus saying "We're here! and we're talkin'!" and "Got my vote!"  A man singing, "Working!" and then a man saying "Get it!"  She wrote that they all sounded happy.