Children Exposed to Religion Fail to Discern Fact from Fantasy

Integrated Strategic Improvement Systems

Studies show that children who are exposed to religion and religious beliefs have a harder time separating fact from fantasy than their non-religious peers.

In the studies, the children were divided into four groups: Public school students who attended church and did not attend church comprised two groups; the other two groups were divided similarly among students from parochial schools.  The groups were then exposed to three types of stories: Biblical, Fantasy (generally involving magic and/or the Supernatural), and realistic.

While all of the children correctly identified the protagonist as real in stories about mundane events (realistic), children who attended church or parochial school had difficulties determining whether or not the protagonists from Biblical and Fantasy stories were real or not.  Children from public schools who did not attend church almost uniformly identified Biblical and Fantasy protagonists as fictitious.

While the study has limitations, the researchers concluded that exposure to religion is more likely than not to detrimentally affect children's ability to discern fact from fiction.

The results were published in Cognitive Science in 2014.

© The Weirding, 2014-2019

LRAD Silent Weaponry: Voice to Skull, The Scream, Voice of God

LRAD Silent Weaponry - 2004

LRAD Silent Weaponry -- known by several other names, including "Mouth to Skull," "Voice to Skull," "The Scream," and "Voice of God" -- is used in Federal and government "sanctioned" gangstalking to imitate Paranoid Schizophrenia in Targeted Individuals.

Too many entities have denied this weaponry's existence for decades, as it is in heavy use amongst defense contractors -- specifically those tied to Senators, Congressmen, and Special Interest groups -- across America.  In fact, I have yet to see a legitimate case of Paranoid Schizophrenia that was not, in fact, a victim of LRAD silent weaponry; Paranoid Schizophrenia does not exist.

LRAD operators verbally abuse victims to break down their defenses, then use hypnotism and hot words techniques to manipulate their emotional states in a manner similar to that Facebook used in its heinous "anger experiments."  Victims' bizarre behavior drives away friends and family members, isolating the victim.  Once isolated, the voices escalate their abuse.  Their behavior becomes increasingly irrational and volatile, and many turn to drugs and promiscuity to self-medicate.  This chain of carefully plotted and executed events often leads to homelessness.

In the "Voice of God" scenario, victims are sucked into a bizarre "war" between God and the Devil -- "God" is heard in one ear, "the Devil" in the other; other scenarios convince the listener that they are being observed in some kind of game, or on a TV show.  These scenarios are usually directed at drug-users, presumed lawbreakers, and "People of Faith," and seem to be most prevalent in the Black community.

These LRAD attacks shake the victim's confidence, use gaslighting in addition to verbal torture, and prey upon the victim's identity and sexuality.  Attacks are coordinated with operatives online, on TV, over the phone, and even through the radio in classic "Paranoid Schizophrenia" scenarios.  Friends and family members are often roped-in unwittingly, convinced by doctors or law enforcement to act a certain way or call certain authorities during "episodes."

This is known as "gangstalking," and is used by Streetgangs, US Federal agencies, bounty hunters, defense contractors (such as Raytheon, Black Cube, and TigerSwan, et.al.), and others.  Victims of gangstalking and LRAD silent weaponry Terrorism are known as "Targeted Individuals."

Silent weaponry affects the victims' memories; hypnotize and berate victims into submission to direct and/or control their behavior; and can also be used to imitate physical maladies, such as Parkinson's disease and Epilepsy.  Many affected will twitch, have violent muscle spasms, and talk to themselves.  Victims will not remember events, especially those involving erratic behavior, as they have been brainwashed.

The original "Voice of God" scenario included ball lightning, which would appear and claim to be "Allah" (Arabic for "God").  It was proposed in 1990, and meant to be used solely in the Middle East. Use of this military-grade weaponry is classified "Restricted," but it has been in heavy use on American civilians since the 1970s.

It was used to evince the Pulse nightclub shooting.  It was used in the Parkland shooting.  It was used on Sirhan Sirhan for the RFK assassination.  It has been used numerous times to force drivers to plough into crowds.  Whenever someone complains of "hearing voices," or thinks "someone on the TV/radio is talking" to them, Silent Weaponry is in use.

Every time, all the time -- period.  There is no such thing as Paranoid Schizophrenia.

LRAD silent weaponry is highly illegal (on paper) as it constitutes Torture, and operators can be afforded no protection under US or International Law; International Law does not apply to them, by their own decree.

© The Weirding, 2019

Adam Freeland - We Want Your Soul

Adam Freeland - We Want Your Soul

Adam Freeland - We Want Your Soul.

© The Weirding, 2018

VP Mike Pence Fondles NASA Equipment

Or... DO Touch?

US Vice-President Mike Pence demonstrates his ability to follow instruction at NASA.

© The Weirding, 2018

Crisis Intervention, Inc.: The UMBRELLA Conspiracy (DHS/CPS)

The UMBRELLA Conspiracy

as attributed

The DHS is best known as the acronym for the terrorist military giant, the Department of Homeland Security. However, the intentionally impoverished know it better as the Department of Human Services.  One of its branches is the CPS, or Child Protection Services -- a front for pedophiles and human traffickers protected by powerful entities in all sectors, specifically business, government, and media.  In Tennessee, one of the first states to adopt a statewide system of socialized healthcare, CPS is also a drug-testing company which runs the majority of pain management clinics throughout the surrounding area.

THE WHISPER CURE

Originally installed to detect Soviet atomic tests, America is covered by omnidirectional microphones reflected off "weather" balloons, satellites, and large, airborne vehicles that pick-up even the slightest breath and broadcast on a wide spectrum of frequencies.  This forms an UMBRELLA of surveillance beneath which not even angels can fart unheard.  In fact, these parabolic arrays are often used by Law Enforcement to pinpoint gunshots, especially in larger cities.

Operatives can arrive on-scene in moments to escalate very minor situations -- forcing murders, illegal kidnappings (private prison industry), and medical institutionalization.  This is known as gangstalking targeted individuals.  While rinky-dink operations usually resort to bolder methodologies, the most sophisticated use whispering voices only targeted individuals can hear... and accomplices and co-conspirators readily ignore.

These "voices" are also broadcast on TV and radio by agents and operatives working in the US Coalition media syndicate (Press Corps), as well as over computers and Internet-connected devices.  This form of gangstalking is meant to silence, intimidate, and escalate situations -- preying upon the Targeted Individual by exploiting feelings of shame, fear, unworthiness, and general despair.  In this scenario, the Targeted Individual is either driven to suicide, crime, drug addiction, or an institution.  In the latter scenario, the Targeted Individual is maliciously dosed with psychotropic medications developed by the Nazi CIA in the 1940s for use in "enhanced interrogation."

This is colloquially referred to as "Paranoid Schizophrenia" by the criminal underworld: An UMBRELLA term for the murderous SIGINT Operation, formerly known as Project: CHATTER (AnnA).

Infrasound is used to induce paranoia and fear, but also such medical maladies as Muscular Dystrophy, Parkinson's Disease, and similar (often paralytic) medical issues.  Paralyzed "units" -- cruelly referred to as "potatoes" -- are abused, but kept alive to collect their benefits.  They are used for sadistic, "experimental," medical testing, and can sometimes be seen in hardcore, pornographic, sadomasochistic films featuring military units.  Some of these are filmed in Flagstaff, AZ -- near the La Huacha Army Base -- others in Nevada, Texas, and overseas (mainly in the UK), but all are financed by the US Pentagon.

These "potatoes" are considered War Trophies.

CRISIS INTERVENTION, INC.

Filth, known as daesh in some countries and languages, include "defense contractors" fronting as medical organizations and religious institutions.  Many of these NGOs receive donations illegally that are re-routed into political elections as "Dark Money," as well as far Blacker Operations.  Some, such as the Church of Scientology, offer rehabilitation and community outreach programs to those in need (Narconon), only to lure them into highly dangerous cults that have tendrils running deep into all areas of Human Life, worldwide (and beyond) -- including the Legal, political, and corporate (all Commercial) sectors, as well as military Black Ops.  Some of these programs are referred to as "Crisis Acts."  Like the Children of God, the Church of Scientology also employs sex and sexuality, or "the honeypot," as a means of recruitment.

Similar organizations, such as extremist Christian-based NGOs, proffer similar programs using similar methodologies (all of these operations are the same, and run by the same conspirators) -- such as "Pray the Gay Away" concentration camps.  Streetgangs run work camps called group homes, while large medical corporations operate retirement centers and in-home hospice care through smaller front companies.  All of these are designed to enlist the victims in unnecessary insurance programs and rob them of their benefits -- especially their Disability and Social Security Insurance (SSI).  Forced prostitution is the name of the Game; G.O.D. suffers not a fool, or so the saying goes.

The NSA, NSC, and similar surveillance programs are rife with members of these, and many other, "religious" paramilitary organizations -- including Streetgangs, the members of which are known colloquially as "gangbangers."  But the deadliest are the corporations, most of which are non-taxable NGO that are media (crisis actors) and medical -based.  The Nazi DOJ (owners of theweirding.com, transferred from China -- unaffiliated with our little dog and pony show here) runs the private prison industry throughout America, and creates havoc in communities such as Charleston in order to make arrests that either fill prisons or the military's ranks.

Surveillance methods (FISA) also "allow" these evil, paramilitary organizations to illegally capture compromising images, film, and recordings of innocent civilians that are then used to extort, discredit, and defame those "They" determine to be unworthy of G.O.D.'s love.  "They" decide who deserves to be imprisoned, who deserves to be rehabilitated, and who deserves to be murdered.

High rates of Recidivism are ensured by releasing the worst offenders first.  Thus, society remains terrorized by these career criminals and their Law Enforcement conspirators, making it easier to drum-up support for harsher sentencing laws, more prisons, more police, and higher budgets to cover the ever-rising costs.

This scheme is known as "The Perfect Circle."

WHITE GENOCIDE

In retaliation for unemployed white males who refuse to take what they erroneously consider "welfare" (Social Security is paid into, which is why the NAZI government steals it back -- or "repatriates" it), countless unemployed white males have been silently murdered in what the media syndicate (Press Corps) continually misrepresents as an "opioid epidemic."  In reality, several of these deaths were not related to opioids at all; many were related to benzos, others to street drugs (mostly heroin and amphetamines), and most remain unsolved (stuck).

The "opioid crisis" is related to a long-standing demand for opioids by the MIC and professional sports clubs, which consume massive amounts both medically and recreationally.  This is why "we" Americans fight unwinnable wars (Occupation) in Afghanistan -- one of the few places on earth amenable to poppy cultivation.

Much of this necessary (to some people) medication is shipped to Baltimore (2018) for street usage, but a lot of it is used by professional and college-level athletic clubs.  The US military and medical sector stockpiles the rest.  Don't forget that chronic pain sufferers fought for decades to have this medication made available in the first place!  Many suffered indescribably, and died unnecessarily in abject pain, before this happened.

Many of these chronic pain and anxiety patients can be compromised simply by withholding their medication, or forcing them to take unnecessary medications in order to receive the medications they need.  This writer has personally experienced the latter, as Nurse Practitioners decided I needed experimental medications -- and refused me the doctor-prescribed meds they were supposed to dispense -- unless I agreed to take the former in conjunction.  Their excuse was that they did not "feel comfortable" dispensing the medication as prescribed.

The combination lead to easily foreseen contraindications that forced me into the Emergency Room, leading me to believe this second-guessing was intentional.  And Malicious.

POISON POND

In many institutional facilities, urine samples are collected from clean patients and prisoners, then substituted for those of dopefiends' -- primarily professional athletes, but also military personnel, favored prisoners, Law Enforcement agents, and others.

These clean samples are known in the criminal underworld as "water."

CPS routinely compromises drug abusers and legitimate, controlled medication patients alike by threatening the removal of their children.  In most cases, these victims agree to participate in "ongoing investigations" concocted by "Law Enforcement" agencies working in tandem with welfare agencies and streetgangs -- this is specific to the FBI (this is the FBI's modus operandi).  No progress is ever made in these alleged investigations.  They simply drag on and on for years, then it is decades later before heavily redacted confessions are released by these same agencies in an attempt to allay public concern.

Defense and Security personnel continue to fail as "lone" wolves (that's the plural) "fly under their radar," and crime escalates, allowing the former the opportunity to cry for more defense spending and greater funding... despite the fact that, were they competent in the first place, it follows that terrorist organizations, drug use, and crime would be on the decline.

Defense contractors (Special Security Office) use single sign-on (SSO) services to access databases of records compiled by the SSO (Social Security Office) to target individuals.  Gangstalking techniques railroad these otherwise innocuous people into compromising situations that allow these criminal elements to assume control of Benefits payments (SSI, Disability checks), or otherwise force the beneficiaries into situations in which they never would have been involved.

The FBI and State Police are two of the worst offenders in regards to this particular conspiracy, but they are far from alone.

The UMBRELLA Conspiracy

The DHS -- an acronym for both the Department of Human Services (Welfare) and the Department of Homeland Security (Defense) -- uses the pain management company, CPS, as a front for the forced trafficking and prostitution of children, the Disabled, and the unemployed.  CPS is also the acronym of Child Protection Services, which falls under the auspices of the DHS (the Department of Homeland Security/Human Services).  That these acronyms are synonymous is no coincidence; this allows the criminals to claim they legally "disclosed" their identity (they absolutely did not; this is known as Fraud -- it would be Identity Theft, were they individuals, but that's... another Conspiracy post [same conspiracy, too!]).  This leads to what is known as "manufactured consent."

And no one cares -- because this is largely run by the Black Mafia Family (BMF), FBI, and similarly-aligned organizations, and primarily preys upon impoverished Southerners and disenfranchised minorities in urban areas.

That is the DHS/CPS (Clarksville, TN) UMBRELLA Conspiracy, comprising the alleged "Opioid Epidemic," the all-too real "Panda Express" (Pizzagate), and far worse.  It really is all related, far from theoretical, and all leads back to the same Federal Department:

The Department of Defense under the Pentagon.

© The Weirding, 2018

US6011991 - Gangstalking Technology and The I/O Process (Naturalization)

The I/O Naturalization Process

US Patent #6011991 is a form of electronic "telepathy" using computers, satellites, and monitors.  Radio waves, infrared, and other forms of telecommunications technology can be broadcast directly into the receivers' brains using this (and suppressed) form(s) of technology.  While this is largely used by the US Military Industrial Complex and government, it is available to anyone with the money to afford it (such as corporations), means to develop it independently, or with connections to installations such as the Pentagon (DoD/CIA/Google under ALPHABET, Inc.).

Hearing voices is frightening -- especially when combined with force compression tech, gravitational wave tech, knowing that electronic home devices are spying on you, and worse -- and is usually enough to send one spiraling into a manufactured nightmare, and right into wherever They want you (prison, mental institution, military, et.al.).  The criminal underworld defines this as "Paranoia Schizophrenia," a non-existent and untreatable "disease" compounded by the prescription of psychotropic medications developed by the CIA in the 1940s and '50s (under MK-ULTRA) to accelerate these brainwashing techniques (Naturalization).

This is known as "The Process."

The ON/OFF technique is a particularly oft-employed hypnotic technique once thought (by this writer) to be exclusive to pornographers.  Pornographers use the ON/OFF technique to acclimate "young" (new to the business, not necessarily age-wise) marks to performing sex acts in front of a camera and crowd.  The "performer" is continually told that the camera is ON or OFF until s/he learns to ignore it, and the environment, and merely "enjoy The Process."  This breaks down their natural inclination to embarrassment, guilt, or shame, making them more willing to perform ever more daring acts.

This is classified as a Naturalization technique -- naturalizing the behavior of, or making the behavior seem natural to, the subject.  This is particular, but not exclusive, to I/O psychology -- or Industrial and Organizational Psychology -- a military specialty.  Interestingly, I/O in computer terms is Input/Output -- which is also slang for sex (particularly in the dystopian Cyberpunk genre -- "The Old In and Out").  In less clinical terms, it is known to pimps as "turning out a trick."

Both Christian extremist sects (basically, all X-ian church groups and schools) and Scientologists use the Naturalization Process -- as do pimps -- to exact a "flattening" of emotions and emotional responses, thus steeling their subjects against their targets' verbal response.  Lawyers and Law Enforcement personnel use it to train witnesses for testimony, and the military uses it as early as Basic Training.  Naturalization is a basic precept of Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

In effect, The Process creates sociopathic personalities, which can also result in further psychiatric damage; the Naturalization Process is sometimes called "brainwashing."  In fact, there is literally a cult known as The Process Church whose members were known as the Processians, which we will discuss in an upcoming post (they're an early offshoot of Scientology).

Crazy shit, right?

Yet most of it works this way: Just as OSS, or Office of Strategic Services = SSO, or Special Security Office -- a division of COMINT, an UMBRELLA term.  Which, interestingly enough, also stands for both Social Security Office and Single Sign-On.  That last link is for a Single Sign-On service used by Law Enforcement in Arkansas -- the original home of the Clinton Network (NOTE: That link is being tracked; open with caution) -- which secured its Overlord status through the theft of a criminal database known as INSLAW in the late 1980s.  Parrable.com is another single-sign-on service used by Law Enforcement and paramilitary organizations working for, or under, the DHS, DoD, and/or other Federal government programs.

These anagrams, palindromes, acronyms, and easy-enough-to-overlook cryptographs are considered legal "disclosure" -- despite the fact that they are anything but, particularly to civilians and citizens who have no idea about interoffice abbreviations used in "classified" communications.  Take, for another example, the Clinton Global Initiative: An acronym for CGI -- the very epitome of "Fake News."

Similar methods are employed to "radicalize" individuals, particularly online.  By infiltrating users' social networks, and posing as friends and contacts, aggressive gangstalking escalates into open mockery, humiliation, and terrorism.  The victim gradually (or immediately) desires revenge, and the target of their revenge is either someone the gangstalkers want out of the way, or is quickly changed through a rotating pattern, signal delays or relays, and general confusion.  This "two birds with one stone" approach is favored by US police across America.

Notifications, an invention seized upon by fast-moving social media, accelerates this process by acting as poppers.  Technology developed by the CIA in the 1940s and 1950s -- especially by such luminaries as Pluharich and Lab Nine -- that include devices covered by Patent US6011991, 6506148-B2, US4877027, and others, are used to gangstalk targeted individuals and force them into destitution, prostitution, criminal activity, or otherwise compromise their health, safety, and livelihood so as to fully compromise and discredit them.

This overall Operation comprises such early programs as CHATTER and COMINT -- part of the UMBRELLA Project: ECHELON (SIGINT) used by the NAZI military forces and installations, governments, corporations, and religious and "psychiatric" institutions.  Or, basically, everyone with a desire to impress and enforce strict behavioral codes on Programmable Life Forms (PLF).

Machine code and the management, or Overlording, of peoples rely on the same I/O -- or Input/Output -- Process in order to achieve results.  This Naturalization Process, a fundament of Industrial and Organizational (IO) Psychology, is colloquially known as Brainwashing.

Enjoy your job, tools (see you in Church)!

© The Weirding, 2017

Horror Movies Include Infrasound to Scare You

Infrasound

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.”- Nikola Tesla

© The Weirding, 2016

Study Finds that Mediumship May be a Mental State

A study conducted by several scientists involving "accredited" mediums - that is, mediums who had previously correctly answered questions about known deceased people in double-blind tests - found that the medium state is distinctly different from that of thinking about a living or imaginary person. This researchers concluded that the medium state is a distinct mental state that suggests the mediums may actually be communicating with the dead.

© C Harris Lynn, 2013

Navel-Gazing, Religion, and World Politics (2013)

I have been thinking quite a bit about the supernatural, the way of the world, and what it all means, and I've come to no real conclusions.  This is no sermon; I have just been doing a lot of introspection -- not so much soul-searching as navel-gazing without a roadmap. 

So, I read some spiritual texts and found them to be of little help, largely because so many twist their true meaning into something it is not -- or, more specifically, what they want you to hear.  The fact is that many religious texts read as flat-out insanity on the surface and their inscrutability is used to stoke fear, anger, and outrage amongst its listeners.  This conflagration of emotions is then manipulated by those in power to control the listener, reader, or viewer.

The Christian religion, in particular, is one that has been abused and twisted by self-serving churches and demagogues, numerous times throughout history.  I was so pleased to hear the new Pope announce that the true way of Jesus Christ is to be kind, loving, tolerant, and accepting of everyone, regardless of race, creed, sexuality or sexual orientation, and so on -- to help those in need, those who cannot help themselves, and all others great and small.

Unfortunately, there are many who use Scripture to advance their own agenda -- usually one of financial and political gain.  In fact, Jesus was even betrayed by one of his own flock simply for money.  Judas Iscariot later regretted his decision deeply but Jesus stood his ground and even prophesied such betrayal.  Many have asked why Jesus did not simply leave His place, knowing that He had been sold-out and forces were on their way to destroy Him.  My question has always been: Why did those who knew Jesus and His message not stand with, protect, and fight for Him?

Jesus worked amongst the sick, hung out with prostitutes and the disenfranchised, and brought them hope and caring, along with the message that love and understanding conquer all.  Those who claim to be Christians today are far too concerned with judging and controlling others, especially those with whom they disagree.
 
Islam is another religion that is too often exploited by those who wish to cause only harm to others.  More than most religions, it preaches hatred toward, and intolerance of, others.  However, all of the Triumverate have done the same.  Both Christianity and Islam -- the leading religions in the world according to some (probably wrong) sources -- are based on Judaism, the first modern religion in which the singular God appears; almost every other religion suggests there are many gods and goddesses -- a pantheon of deities, many of whom represent one or more closely related ideals.

Many other religions teach not about gods and goddesses but spirits and similar forces we would consider supernatural.  Many of these religions suggest that these forces are not only to be found within but without, and that these spirits can be called upon to help one's own forces or hinder one's opposition.  Like the pantheistic religions above, different spirits are used for different reasons, and called upon by believers to exercise powers according to their spheres of influence.  If this sounds vaguely like Dungeons & Dragons, it's because these gaming conventions are based on real religions and beliefs found around the world throughout history, just as the game itself is based on fantasy literature also found around the world throughout history.

Even these beliefs can be twisted by Evil people and used to nefarious ends.  Which brings one to ask: What use is religion?

Religion today is most often used to manipulate and control large groups of people without the need for a centralized leader or faction -- basically a form of slavery that uses fear of the Unknown to limit and control the individual.  Most especially the individual who speaks out against these institutions.

America, in particular, has allowed too many special interest groups, religions, and corporations to purchase the laws and "freedoms" they then use to enslave and manipulate the free-thinking individual.  They have perverted the true beauty of these wonderful things by manipulating believers into doing their bidding, holding them hostage with religious and political beliefs that have been twisted from their true meaning. 

The Holy Bible itself is no longer the word of God (if ever it was) but a deeply twisted mockery, changed many times throughout the ages.  It was, in fact, based on works that have been lost to antiquity and much of it is actually the history of the world, which missionaries subsumed in order to indoctrinate others into the fold.  Christmas, Easter, even marriage, are holidays and institutions originating from pagan cultures that have been incorporated into Christian religion in order to convert the populace.

The Church is just another corporation -- an international business machine, to quote Clutch -- and these corporations and special interest groups have been given free reign to control the individual.  Technology and the media have also been used, often illegally, to further these goals.  Gone are the concepts of integrity and honor, replaced instead by less virtuous ideals such as fame, power, and money.

The Greek government has taken to extracting money from its own citizens' banks to pay the debts their government elite have incurred through lavish spending.  America threatens its population with a non-existent debt ceiling, raising taxes on the middle-class and cutting billions from welfare, social security, education, and other national programs meant to uplift the individual and create a stronger nation.  Instead, we have kept the right to bear arms while hundreds die in gangland shootings, as well as the right to religious freedoms that seek to silence those who oppose the religious structures that are afforded the same rights as corporations, which are also afforded the same rights as individuals.

Iceland jailed the bankers who subverted their laws and rewrote their own constitution -- which was not covered by the mainstream news here in America (and actually wasn't even covered by online outlets).  The Wall Street bankers who masterminded the housing collapse here in America have not been held accountable.  And those of us who speak out against these injustices have been railroaded and turned into scapegoats.

My mind fluctuates between revolution and peaceful negotiations, yet we individuals have no voice in this process and, when we raise them, our words are used against us.  Artistic and religious freedoms are held on the same ground -- given the same weight -- and money is considered free speech.  Artists and creators are jailed and silenced, our own works used against us by those in power, and everyone suffers.

Our nation is perverted by The Church and Big Business.  Is there any hope for freedom from those who oppress us?  Is war with ourselves the only answer?  Should we just submit and allow ourselves to be controlled by those who hold greater power or should we continue to fight until the bitter end, never knowing for certain just what those ends may be?  Should we be conditioned for peace or prepared for war, and why are our own minds, words, and works used against us?  Are love, peace, and harmony simply forever out of reach? 

And, why are the kindest and most caring always the victims?  And only the blood of the innocent shed?

© C Harris Lynn, 2013

Does Positive Thinking Really Work?

Every few years, some new book, system, movie, or other vehicle comes along to promote the power of thinking positively. The basic theory is that if you "put positive energy out there," you will reap positive results and, conversely, a negative approach to life will result in negative consequences.

Some studies have proven that those with a more optimistic outlook on life tend to have better overall health although why this is has yet to be answered. One of the most popular theories is that optimists handle stress better than pessimists who tend to blame themselves for bad things. Sadly, I fall into the latter group for the most part.

I am trying to develop more optimistic thinking patterns and outlooks on the world and others but it isn't easy to do. As I discussed in an earlier post, I have all but quit following the news because it only reports the worst things in the most sensational ways -- and I have honestly been at least a little bit happier! Of course, that is only part of the solution.

My issue with unbound optimism is one of self-delusion. A lot of people are under the impression that just believing in something somehow makes it true and that earnest belief, wishful thinking, faith -- whatever name you give it -- is just as valid as factual information and actual results.

So I put it to those of you who have tried positive thinking: Did it work for you?

© C Harris Lynn, 2013

Atheists, Agnostics Angrier at God

According to new research, it appears that agnostics and atheists get mad at God more often than believers. Believers are more apt to accept what they believe is "God's plan," although they admit to being angry at God throughout their lives, as well. Anger at "the image of God -- what they imagined God to be like" is most common amongst non-believers and the bereaved.

The lead study was authored by psychologist, Julie Exline, who is continuing research which is open to more participants.

© C Harris Lynn, 2011

The Peculiar Case of the Bruner Boys - Dæmonic Possession

In the annals of dæmonic possession, or "diabolepsy" (a term abandoned due to its similarity to epilepsy, which many skeptics think explains away many so-called cases of dæmonic possession), the peculiar case of the Bruner boys, Theobald and Joseph, is pretty tough to beat.

Though the events which plagued the children occurred from 1865 to 1869, it remains one of the most well-known and accepted cases of "modern" dæmonic possession due to the breadth of symptoms the boys showed, and the documentation of their affliction. From levitation to contortions to glossalia (a specific type of "speaking in tongues," whereby the possessed demonstrates a worldly knowledge of languages s/he could not possibly know, often demonstrated by answering questions posed in one foreign language in another) to the vomiting of foul-smelling articles the boys had never eaten -- if the accounts are to be believed, little else explains the Bruner boys' impossible behavior.

The diabolic events began in 1865 when the Bruner boys started drawing "horrible Devil faces" on their bedroom walls and talking playfully to them for hours. Their bedroom was said to be unnaturally hot despite not being heated. The boys would run and hide from clergymen who visited the house and were said to hide under their covers whenever Rosary beads were placed on their bed. True to form, they would begin cursing and writhing in the presence of Holy items, and soon took to their bed.

Joseph, the younger of the two, displayed fewer, and less fervent, signs of possession than his older brother, who began speaking in foreign tongues and dialects unknown to him, including English. Theobald Bruner also showed knowledge of outside events (clairvoyance, clairaudience) and correctly predicted the deaths of others several times (precognition, or maybe prophecy), which he often did by kneeling beside his bed to mimic the ringing of a mourning bell.

In one such event which included all of the above, a local man's daughter was visiting the house when Theobald predicted her father's demise. Shocked and angered, the girl spat, "You liar! My father is not even ill," to which Theobald responded, "That may be, but he just had a fall." No one in the entire village knew this had happened, but Theobald was correct; Gregor Kunegel had fallen from a scaffold at the precise moment Theobald had made the ringing motion.

Things only got worse from there:

The boys would simultaneously bend backward on their heads and legs, their backs arched high, and nothing could right them "until the Devil saw fit to give these objects of his torture some temporary peace." Every few hours, the boys would entangle their legs so impossibly and intricately that no one could untangle them but the children themselves, who would do so "suddenly... with lightning speed." Their little bellies would bloat and distend to the point of bursting before they would vomit "yellow foam, evil-smelling feathers, and seaweed" which inexplicably covered their clothes, no matter how often they were changed and cleaned. The stench was so foul that their clothes had to be burned.

The children's bed levitated, even with their mother on it; furniture flew around their room; doors flew open of their own accord; the entire house shook.

Finally, Theobald was sent to an Orphanage in Schiltigheim, near Strasbourg. Upon arriving, he was forced to remain in front of the altar. It took three men to hold him there. He remained silent for three days, drooling yellow foam, but on the fourth, he said, "I have come and I am in a rage." When one of the nuns asked, "And who are you?" He responded, "I AM THE LORD OF DARKNESS!"

Joseph was eventually sent to join his brother and a prolonged Exorcism of the two boys began. One of the more curious manifestations of the possession was when the brothers' heads were so infested with bright red lice that a team of four people with brushes and combs could not keep pace with them. These were dispelled by sprinkling Holy water on their heads. Theobald had to be restrained by straitjacket, as he ripped at himself and his clothing and tried to break everything in reach. His Exorcism took a full three days, after which he fell into a deep slumber, or possibly coma. Joseph's Exorcism took only three hours, after which he too fell into a deep sleep. When the boys awoke, neither remembered what had happened to them.

Theobald Bruner died two years later at age 16. Joseph lived to the age of 25. The events which plagued the Bruner boys for those four years have never been fully explained by conventional means.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Family Sues SeaWorld Over Son's Trauma

A family who was in attendance when a trainer was pulled under and drowned by a killer whale is suing the Orlando SeaWorld theme park for traumatizing their 10-year-old son. While this sounds like a frivolous lawsuit at first blush, and common sense screams, "Why did you just stand there and watch!? WTF!?" the family is actually only suing for a little over $15,000.

SeaWorld has been fined $75,000 by federal authorities for safety violations. The killer whale which attacked the trainer was also known to be violent. All things told, I absolutely believe a 10-year-old child would be traumatized by such a thing, and SeaWorld should absolutely bear the responsibility. More than anything, $15,000 is a very reasonable amount, and I have a feeling that, should this case go to trial, the family may be rewarded far more than that.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Stuck in Time

Following two car crashes, Michelle Philpots lost her short-term memory in 1997; she remembers most things about her life up to 1994, but nothing beyond that.  Philpots' husband has to remind her daily that they were married 13 years ago, sometimes even having to get a photo album to prove it.  She keeps Post-It notes around her house to remind her of things she knows she will not remember the next day.

Michelle Philpots suffers from anterograde amnesia, a condition which prevents the patient from creating new memories or recalling recent ones.  She suffered brain injuries in a 1985 crash, and again in a 1990 collision.  She appeared to recover but later began having seizures and forgetting things.  While rare, anterograde amnesia does exist.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

You Really *Are* As Old As You Feel

According to recent study, the age-old adage "You are only as old as you feel" may be dead-on. According to a study conducted by Purdue University (Indiana), those who consider themselves old suffer a plethora of downsides associated with old age, while those who maintain a younger outlook on life do not. The researchers compared participants' actual, chronological age with their "subjective" age to determine which had a greater effect on their brain functions and mental activity.

The study determined that though your actual age does matter, your outlook makes all the difference.

© C Harris Lynn, 2010

Miserable People Think More Clearly, Communicate More Well

An Australian researcher has determined that sad and grumpy moods promote clearer thinking and better communication skills, particularly in written form. Happy moods facilitate creativity.

Professor Joe Forgas, an expert in psychology, had subjects watch movies and ponder positive and negative events in their lives - both activities designed to put them in a positive or negative mood - then perform tasks such as evaluating the veracity of urban myths and providing eyewitness accounts of events. Those in bad, sad - negative - moods outperformed the jolly types.

Professor Forgas told Australian Science Magazine pleasant moods "promote creativity, flexibility, co-operation and reliance on mental shortcuts," while disgruntled dispositions "trigger more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world [and] may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style."

Forgas' earlier research indicated the same findings in relation to weather: gloomy days sharpened memory, while sunny days fostered, um... oh - forgetfulness.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Genuine Case of Generalized Amnesia

I almost forgot to bring you this one... okay, okay.

A 50-something man, fluent in three languages (English, German, and French) with a "professorial knowledge" of European cultural history, awoke dehydrated in Seattle with $600 in his sock and few memories of his past or identity.  He knew the names of several professors he said he had worked with in the 1980s -- as well as the troubling memory of a young wife whom he'd found dead in 1985 -- but little else.  And he wasn't too keen on knowing more, he said.

The story puzzled doctors, police, and experts worldwide for several weeks.  According to them, generalized amnesia is basically a movie ailment; it is possible, but the sufferers are often exaggerating for their own benefit, and thoroughly legitimate cases are extremely rare.  "Jon Doe"'s ("Jon" is fine with him) appears to be a genuine case.

An update to this story is that the man has been identified as Edward Lighthart, a professor who once taught English in China.  Online pictures verified his identity and the newspaper was trying to catch-up to him when I posted this entry.  Follow the Seattle Times Online for more developments on this story.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Nicaragua's Crazy Sickness

In 2008, there were 65 reported cases of Grisi Siknis, which translates from Miskito language to "crazy sickness," or "jungle madness." Those suffering it turn to local healers -- people we refer to as "mystics" and "witchdoctors" -- because Western medicine has no idea how to treat it. Yes, "Grisi Siknis" is apparently a very real medical malady.

The affliction dates back to the 1850s and originally only affected the Miskito. Recently, however, the illness has presented itself in those of Spanish descent. Also called Grisi Munaia and Nil Siknis, the Crazy Sickness is what Western medicine refers to as "culture-bound," meaning it is limited to those of a specific culture or region -- in this case, the Miskito people.

Culture-bound illnesses are very real, though their treatment is specious, at best. While most Western doctors consider it unethical to provide the victims folk treatment, as they believe themselves to be deceiving the patient, it logically follows that culture-bound illnesses should be susceptible to culture-bound remedies. But now, it appears the affliction is spreading outside the cultural sphere which is believed to have created it, perhaps elevating it to an actual form of mental illness.

Furthermore, Grisi Siknis spreads in outbreaks. While culture-bound illnesses are known to be "contagious." Western psychology prefers to apply the term, "mass hysteria." Mass hysteria is also known as Collective Obsessional Behavior, which is far more apt. So far this year, there have been 46 reported cases. As a local doctor, and ardent researcher of the malaise, says, "If an attack is not contained quickly, it can spread throughout an entire community."

The most common symptoms are hallucinations in which the sufferer believes he is being attacked or sexually molested by The Devil of Christian mythology; severe anxiety, nausea, and dizziness; irrational fear and anger; and periods of frenzy during which the victim often runs away.

Western medicine and procedures seem to have no effect, but local mystics' rites and potions often cure the afflicted. Of course, if the Grisi Siknis is, in fact, societal in nature, then what else would cure it but culturally-bound procedures such as those provided by local witchdoctors?

Western science continues to scratch its collective ass head.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

Gay Tactics? Release Your Inner Cannibal!

23-year old Zacharie Morrison plead guilty to aggravated assault in January, regarding an attack he made on then 31-year-old Aaron Helferty in which he bit the man's nose -- hard enough that Helferty has since undergone surgery to repair it.   But that isn't that interesting:

Morrison told the court-appointed psychologist that he became enraged when he saw the older man "grab" a girl on the dancefloor and approached him.  At this point, Morrison says Helferty adopted "gay tactics" by trying to dance with him before grabbing him by the throat.

Morrison said that it was at this point that, "The cannibalist in me came out.  It was really frightening for me."  One can only imagine how it was for Mr. Helferty.  The psychologist also recorded the following statement: "Biting should only be used as a last resort and not as a fight tactic, according to Bruce Lee the martial artist."  This information was entered into evidence in the Canadian court.

While all of this sounds rather bizarre, we have to remember it is being presented completely out of context; were you to record any conversation word for word and present only certain parts of it, it could likewise be perverted.  The psychologist recommended anger management classes and a "career path" for Morrison, but noted he was a "medium risk" for re-offense.

The prosecutor wants to see him serve up to 30 years in prison.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009

1 Mind Ministries Brings Brainwashing, Cults to Headlines

The discovery of the corpse of a year-old infant, stuffed in a suitcase filled with mothballs and stored behind an elderly Philadelphia man's home, uncovered the bizarre beliefs of a cult known as "1 Mind Ministries." Now, the mother of the infant has been sentenced to a 20-year suspended sentence and ordered into counseling. 

She agreed to plead Guilty only if prosecutors allowed her plea to be withdrawn once the child is resurrected.

22-year old Trinidad native, Ria Ramkissoon, put her family "behind her" when she became involved with the 1 Mind Ministries cult, her mother told reporters. The religious cell consisted of at least four other people who will also stand trial for the child's death. Ramkissoon will testify against the former cult members, one of whom is free on his own recognizance.

In a mind-boggling illustration of what passes for American "justice," the judge assured the woman her plea could be withdrawn if the child came back to life. A court psychiatrist found her mentally competent to stand trial, as well as criminally responsible, because she knows right from wrong. I am not sure if they do, though -- nor am I convinced that the proclaimed psychiatrist was familiar with the case.

See, Ms. Ramkissoon and her cult starved her child to death when the 1-year old "refused" to say "Amen" following a meal. Believing the child would be resurrected, the corpse was left to decompose in the cult's apartment. Later, the cult packed the body in a suitcase with mothballs and relocated to Philadelphia. There, they befriended an elderly man and stored the suitcase behind his home. Police found the grisly scene a year after the baby's death. If words like "insane," "delusional," or "crazy" come to mind, I concur. 

A court psychiatrist did not.

We've been over this one before, guys: mentally incompetent people are incapable of Evil, because Evil presupposes a choice. The American legal system dismisses both the label, Evil, as having religious connotations, and the concept as being separate from knowing "right from wrong." It's one of the greatest failings of a judicial system just chockful o' Fail. Of course, just refusing to use the word, "Evil," does not mean the concept is not in play: 

If Ms. Ramkissoon's actions are not considered "Evil," then why would she be facing punishment? It's a convoluted mess of semantics deemed intellectually insulting to those of us without a vested financial or professional interest in organized crime.

Even more insulting is the prosecutors' admission that the finding of competency was "surprising"... but they were still going to punish her to the fullest extent of the law. Because that is exactly what people like poor Ms. Ramkissoon deserve for getting sick, and being taken advantage of by people not unlike the prosecutors!

Next up for Baltimore [ZONE 1] prosecutors? Those fucking cancer patients. Enough with the lying around and hurting shit! Everybody's got problems, for fuck's sake.

Ramkissoon's guilty plea actually means she will come out better than if she had pursued an insanity defense, which could have hospitalized her indefinitely: According to her plea deal, she will have spent a year in jail, and will serve another five on probation. However, she will also be forced to undergo treatment meant to deprogram her. Technically, Ms. Ramkissoon may make a full recovery and actually have a chance at pursuing a normal life; an insanity defense risked her permanent incarceration in a "hospital for the criminally insane" -- yet another legal semantic (a hospital in which one is permanently incarcerated -- get it? Me either).

Mental illness and emotional maladjustments are not necessarily evidence of weak minds or any other physical/chemical shortcoming, nor can the state of mental infirmity or emotional incompetence be considered a "choice." In computing terms, it's referred to as GIGO: "Garbage In, Garbage Out" -- that means that if the information is processed incorrectly to begin with [INPUT], there is no chance for a correct outcome [OUTPUT]. Asking mentally ill and/or emotionally unwell persons to make, or defend, rational moral decisions is akin to asking a paraplegic to run a foot race... or a lawyer not to take a bribe.

How can a woman who spent a year with her infant's corpse in a suitcase filled with mothballs and fabric softener, waiting for it to rise from the dead -- who agreed to plead guilty only if she can withdraw that plea once her child does return from the grave -- be considered to know "right" from "wrong?" What is that even supposed to mean? To such a diseased mind, these are clearly pointless labels, no more relevant than knowing right from left, or red from blue.

The question here becomes: Did the Baltimore [ZONE 1] Court understand Right from Wrong during this trial and Sentencing Phase?

Our hearts go out to all of the victims here -- including both families -- and Ms. Ramkissoon, herself. It is an egregious failing of the American judicial system that requires her and her (almost certainly Public-appointed) attorney to play such legal games in order to get her the help she needs -- the help a society as "advanced" as the US, LLC claims to be should be able to provide her -- but The Weirding applauds her lawyer's efforts (make note, as we are not in the habit of applauding lawyers). 

Hopefully, Ms. Ramkissoon will recover... though part of me hopes she never does; the thought of her suffering for the rest of her life under the weight of knowing she killed her own child while delusional is just heartbreaking.

© C Harris Lynn, 2009