ouji boards...

[Katieface]

has anyone ever used one? why do some people say that they have summoned an evil spirit? and how does it work exactly? sorry if this seems to be in the wrong section but i didnt know where else to put my question!

[LazyGun]

Used one a couple of times during the teenage years.
It is claimed that they work by allowing a spirit to guide the planchette through the users, who all lightly rest a finger on the planchette to various letters or phrases on a board in order to spell out responses to questions. Some people claim that they are dangerous because evil spirits lurk out there, and under the guise of being cooperative spirits will attempt possession, or cause users to be haunted etc.

I personally am extremely sceptical about them and think that basically its a lot of nonsense.
You may find this link of interest
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija

[yassa]

I was with a 'medium' a few months ago using one of these boards; the thing was going all over the place. I tried and tried to get it so it was just a mate and me on the thing but she wouldn't take her finger off.... So I started pushing it around myself and caught her eye, after a short break I suggested me and just my mate have a go, she thought I was a cheat myself and sat back, well for ten seconds, cus as i predicted, it didn't move... This was the third time i have used one and i still think it a lot of bull poo... You can't speak to the dead, they are dead, live with it.

[Immi666]

I've had experiences with oujii boards. Not good ones either. You can contact the dead, or at least I have, but the oujii board is not the best way to do it. It's like reaching down the telephone and dragging the other person through by their ear. They don't like it. Most of the spirits you can contact arent evil, just peed off.

Sceptism gets in the way of mediums and psychics - that and the 99% of them who are frauds.

Why do you ask? Are you thinking of trying one?

[LazyGun]

If you can contact the dead Immi, you should toddle off to the James Randi Institute who is offering 1 million dollar prize for a genuine experience..... Its never been claimed in all the years its been offered... wonder why that is?

[Immi666]

Lazy, I've had people tease me since I was eight years old. I don't even bother feeling bad about it now. I know the truth, that's all that matters.

As for a "genuine experience" - they'll never find one because they'll disprove anything. If you try hard enough you can disprove even the truest thing. Haven't you been paying attention to the world's justice systems?

[LazyGun]

Your claim that you are able to contact the dead is an extraordinary claim Immi.Such claims require extraordinary proofs to have any credibility.

It always staggers me that people are so willing to take such claims at face value without any objective proof of their existence.And what on earth does the justice systems of the world have to do with anything?
You would expect medicines, buildings, cars, planes etc all to be rigorously tested prior to being approved wouldnt you? Why should mysticism be any different?

[pugwashjw]

The Bible warns against the use of or or involvement in such things.
(Galatians 5:19-21) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they are fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, 20�idolatry, practice of spiritism, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, 21�envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these. As to these things I am forewarning YOU, the same way as I did forewarn YOU, that those who practice such things will not inherit God�s kingdom.

Practice of spiritism...

[noxlumos]

Well the thing is Lazygun, that if you and I have a brief conversation with no-one else present, there is no way I can prove it did take place or you can prove it didn't.
I am 100% happy that a medium I know contacted my father. I am happy about this because she proved it to ME, it wouldn't mean jacksh1t to you, but it did t me. What she said would have been a totally random thing to say to anyone else but was super specific to me, so I am 100% convinced that people can be contacted. I'm not going to try to prove it, because it doesn't matter and even for the million quid on offer I'd rather keep it private, but when I say specific it really was word for word.I don't care who does or does not believe it but you can't say other people's experiences are bollox just because they haven't proved something personal to them, to you.

[LazyGun]

Nox, your own experience of spiritualism was that an extraordinary claim (medium contacting your dead father) had extraordinary proof (a phrase, sentence, whatever) in your eyes at least.

Its OK for people to claim that in their opinion spiritualism works... whats not OK is to make objective claims that spiritualism works in the absence of any supporting verifiable evidence (of which there is none)

[noxlumos]

I think you've missed the point though Lazygun. I practically never mention anything about this because inevitably you get someone who says "Ah yeah, but prove it", equally I could then say "ah yeah well disprove it". It's pointless, and imho it's best if everyone merely agrees that it might be possible but is as yet unproven to some people's satisfaction, otherwise it implies the rest of us are stark staring mad or very gullible, of which I consider myself neither, so I'd prefer the implication wasn't there in the first place.

[Stevee]

noxlumos - the Gun is right.

If you can contact the dead it
is verifiable- A medium say they can speak to my dead Grandfather I ask a specific question it never gets answered, it never has never will.

I suggest you look up "cold calling" There is $1m as Lazygun says available - Just contact Randi.

[noxlumos]

Well sorry it's proven to my personal satisfaction which is all I care about unless you'd care to explain to me how a medium I've never met who thinks I want to contact my mother (who isn't dead), tells me that my father (who I swear is alive) wants to speak to me although he knows I won't want to.I still deny he's dead and ask her what makes her think he's my father?She says he told her and that to prove it she should tell me that jimmy jewel got away lightly.That really means something to me, but I still protest that my father isn't dead.She insists, tells me how he died, says that he's sorry for some things which she went into great detail about and that are personal so I won't go into here and that should I have any further doubt I should think about the lady that used to live on our doorpost.Now how is any of that going to prove to YOU that you can talk to the dead? It won't bc it's not proveable to you, however jimmy jewell was my pet mouse when I was six and my Dad tried to kill him and the lady who lived on our doorpost was the virgin mary.It was a joke in our house that there was a knot on the doorpost that looked like the virgin Mary.Now how the hell is a medium in london that I just walk in off the street to,going to know that?I didn't know I was going to see her that day until I decided,she knew nothing about me,not even my real name,which she got right during the reading as well btw.She named the street I lived on when I was a kid and a lot of very personal info. At no point did I agree with anything she'd said, and I'm aware of techniques for concealing body language.But none of that is proveable to you, so whether I'm a gullible prat and she's cosmically lucky or not, it's all academic, but it's proven to my satisfaction and a lot of other people's as well.The lady is very nice and if I ever see her again I'll tell about your million quid.Whether she can do it at will I don't know, but on that one occasion she convinced me beyond any doubt

[yassa]

HOGWASH,,, you can't speak to the dead, all mediums are con merchants and people who believe in them fools... Everyones mother , father, grand parents, uncles, auntys, friends, dogs and cat dies, get the fk over it, you'll be dead one day.

[RATTER15]

Well Yassa it is nice of you to give such an intelligent and convincing answer!!

[yassa]

Well i could have gone on and on but if you know human nature like i do, then you will know the only way to get people thinking is short shock,,, All the blah blah blah may be good for the intellectuals, but for the dumb arses like myself and people who believe in ghosts and such rubbish,,, give em a small package, they haven't got to think to much then.

[noxlumos]

By the way you talk you've clearly got a "small package" and for the record I managed to get a History degree and an English degree, so please don't feel you have to dumb things down for me, micro dick :)

[chicklin]

I 'm with nox on this but as the saying goes - a believer doesn't need proof, and all the proof in the world isn't enough for a sceptic. So no matter what nox says, it still wouldn't be enough for people like lazy and yassa who will never believe because their minds are not open enough to even consider the possibility that there could be something in it. Nox is happy to believe because he's been told things by this medium that she had no way of knowing about. How do these sceptics account for this knowledge?
Just because something can't be proved in a scientific way doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

[LazyGun]

Chicklin... you appear to beconfusing credulous , unthinking acceptance with an "open mind".

If serious, peer - reviewed objective evidence together with a logical hypothesis of mediumship, spiritualism etc was presented, then I would consider it... thats what having an open mind means.

There are avenues for spiritualists and mediums to prove their ability under scientifically controlled circumstances.. and guess what? They have failed every single time.... what does that tell you?

Once again... Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof if those claims are to be generally accepted.

Nox chooses to believe in spiritualism, mediums or whatever, based upon a personal experience of 1 medium. Argument from personal experience should never form the basis of a general rational belief, and I am sure Nox would say the same thing.

[noxlumos]

I do tend to agree with Lazygun.
It's proved to me personally on that one occasion, but if our situation was reversed and Lazygun was telling me about it, then I'd be inclined to think "aww he heard what he wanted to hear poor thing" etc and probably doubt it. Anecdotal evidence isn't credible enough to "prove" these things can happen point blank, but I am convinced by personal experience, but acept that the two things are poles apart.
However I do agree with chicklin as well, that simply because something is not proveable scientifically ( or hasn't been yet) doesn't mean it's not true also.

[yassa]

I have an open mind my friend, in the past 20 years i have read it seen it done it and come out the other side and in all my time i have never come across any (real) evidence. Every time i have challenged something, it has fallen apart, i would love to be able to believe in something but all avenues so far are dead ends, From the Tora to The book of the law through The only planet of choice to the Bible and beyond, I have read and read and watched untill my bloody eyes and brain were sore, but nothing... And as for being able to tell the size of my manhood by the way i talk, well, he may not be a 12"er but you wouldn't want him on the end of your nose as a wart.