Posted on 20 February 2014, 19:42

Following on from the Rev Michael Cocks’ blog I too make no claim to know or understand everything related to the survival issue. In fact I sometimes wonder if I actually know anything at all. What I can say is that I can relate to hard evidence that a particular phenomenon has occurred. If it looks like an apparition, speaks like the person who has passed, has all of that person’s memories and mannerisms then it is most probably an apparition of that person. Within mediumship, previously unknown information is often transferred to a recipient, information which subsequently has to be checked and found to be correct.

However I do think that we know little of the methodology of communication.

If we begin with some psychologists’ attitude, many of them do not think that communication takes place at all, but it is in our psyche and our inner needs have misperceived or conjured up those particular phenomena. Now I am not saying that this never happens, of course it does when people are mentally fragile, or under medication of some sort, but this is not the complete picture. Therefore psychology must hold some place in these matters but it is NOT the whole answer to specific phenomena.

Equally there is much speculation on quantum ideas holding an answer to a methodology for the occurrence of such phenomena. I think that we have to be careful here too as we don’t really know.

We then go to theories that expound the idea that nothing really exists unless it is being observed. It is at this point that my boggle threshold kicks in and I begin not to care anymore.

Being a simple person I like evidence such as in in my present book and in the next one, which is half way complete.

In saying that, many people have religious or spiritual experiences which appear to take them to a different ‘consciousness’ ‘awareness’ or ‘place’.  This is most obvious in the near death experience. I hesitate to say this, but although I think that life and death are naturally linked and that most people will transcend from one to the other alone, with ease, I do think that there is evidence to support the idea that ‘someone’ or ‘something’ has a personal interest in each and every one of us.

So now we have to concern ourselves with psychology, quantum ideas and religion, if indeed religion is the correct word.

Let us enjoy the experiences that we have had and those of others that we know of and wonder at the whole scenario.

I am reminded here of Monty Python’s Astronomers’ song….how unlikely is our birth.

A former teacher of mathematics and physics, Tricia Robertson is a long term council member, past Vice President and Immediate Past President of the Scottish Society for Psychical Research.

Her book Things You can do When You’re Dead! Is published by White Crow Books and is available from Amazon and all good online bookstores.

http://whitecrowbooks.com/books/page/things_you_can_do_when_youre_dead/

Paperback               Kindle

Thank you for your comments Grahame. Excellent points. I am just trying to drum up some enthusiasm.

Tricia, you wrote: “Equally there is much speculation on quantum ideas holding an answer to a methodology for the occurrence of such phenomena (mediumship). I think that we have to be careful here too as we don’t really know.”

The scientific method can help a great deal here with its principle of independent corroboration. But interestingly there doesn’t seem to be so many people absolutely convinced of survival by science-derived knowledge. Unusually unusual? There’s always that “wriggle-room” and some so-called “scientists” are some of the worst offenders here, with their unscientific demands of “great claims require a greater standard of evidence!” There has been, and is, some interesting research going on, some of which Tricia has been a part of. Without the likes of courageous, open-minded people like Tricia, we won’t break through the established materialistic paradigm.

Science needs to move forward and oust the anomalies that some closed-minded scientists still hold to be true. If science looked at the area of survival closely, more progress could be made in ten years than the last hundred alone and we then might have a better consensus and much more likely to once and for all answer the question above: How Unlikely is our Birth?

Very readable book Tricia, keep up the good work!

A chap from Japan

I’ll email him again and tell him to try again.

Who has tried?

People have been trying to comment here but for some reason the comments are not showing up.??

Exactly so, Guy

I know that the above is a bit of a ramble, but I would like your thoughts on these matters.

How nice to hear someone admit that we don’t know everything and should concentrate on what we do know based on the evidence we have. And the evidence in this book is original and believable, and presented with admirable clarity.

I think we should always remember that unexpected philosopher Donald Rumsfeld’s remark that “there are things that we don’t know that we don’t know”. Too many problems in this world, especially in psi research, are caused by those who think they know everything but don’t.