Paranormal_Association_San_Tan

                                                                                                   What’s that Sound?
                                      "How Friends, Family and Co-workers Get Sucked Into the World of Paranormal Research"
                                                                                               By Jodi E. Torres, CLPI

     When one decides to become a Paranormal Researcher, it is usually not a decision taken lightly. Sure, you can jump on the proverbial band wagon after seeing a few episodes of Ghost Hunters and Paranormal State, get all the fancy, cool gadgets, and label yourself an Official Paranormal Researcher (after all, there are no accredited programs to dispute out there, right?) and go hunt, but those of us who take it a bit more seriously want to learn the ins, outs, ups, and downs of the genre. Those of us want to find the answers to our most personal questions about the paranormal and if we can help a few (or many) people out in the process, even better. Personal satisfaction and community service all rolled into one, who could ask for anything more?

      Inevitably, when word gets out about our new "hobby", the proverbial woodwork oozes activity. In between the snide remarks and the suppressed giggles, a series of awareness come to fruition. These "Snickerers" (as I like to call them) of the Paranormal World start "seeing" and "remembering" things that they can’t explain, but are curious to know the answer. Is it a life-changing/altering knowledge? No, most of the time it isn’t, but inquiring minds do want to know!

     Most family, friends and co-workers start out as these very people. Not really sure whether to laugh at or with us in our crazy exploration of the paranormal, but as one talks more and more of the courses available through ParaNexus and MUFON, and the interesting tidbits of information learned, they start to open their minds to the thought processes of a Paranormal Researcher. I further explain how our jobs, such as Air Traffic Controller, can give an edge to investigating strange lights in the sky or unusual cloud formations. That it is perhaps attributed to the flight paths of nearby airports or the natural occurrences when moisture forms at various altitudes. How being an Electronics Technician can make you understand electrical concepts a bit better or, as we’ve seen, plumbers investigating the noises that go bump in the middle of the night or after one takes a shower. Even housewives in Anywhere, USA, can utilize their highly intuitive skills as a Paranormal Researcher. I mean, have you ever had to find the 1 out of 5 culprit who spilled the milk on the floor? Exactly! Once the realization that being a Paranormal Researcher is not splitting the Atom, the inquisitive seas start to part and they become more open to the possibilities of, well, everything, but not just anything.

     The next step of awareness has these Snickerers looking at places, events and things that “might be of interest” to us, new information about pieces of equipment “that might be of some help” in our investigations and the age old, “I was flipping through the channels last night and saw this program” just to let us know (it was a re-run), but I think all of us can relate to this evolution. I have found that while pursuing my Bachelors Degree, I took a course on Aircraft Accident Investigation. Would you believe the similarities in just the investigation process alone? You would have thought it was déjà-vu: Taking pictures, video recording the site, interviewing the witnesses, sounding familiar? It is unbelievable how our daily lives help us research the paranormal if one just opens up to the notion that there might be something more out there and, of course, see how it all fits together.

     The final step of awareness comes to light when the questions of “when I was young, I heard this or that when I stayed at Grandma’s house” or “when I was driving through the mountains, I saw these lights just above the tree line.” As I help "walk" them through their memories by just asking simple questions, they eventually