Proof Ouija Board are a NOVELTY item!!!nothing more.

Here is a page talking about some acient devices that resembles the Ouija board:

divining.suite101.com...

" History of the Talking Board

Devices similar to the talking board have been used in many ancient cultures. The Egyptians would attach a ring to a thread and hold it over a circular table. The ring would touch symbols depicted on the table and provide answers to questions.

In China, devices similar to talking boards had been used to communicate with spirits since 500 B.C. The Greeks used a wheeled table that would point to signs. The signs were believed to messages from the spiritual world. The wheeled table was used up to the nineteenth century.

Romans used types of devises similar to talking boards in the third century. The thirteenth century saw the Mongols use their version of the talking board. There were Native American tribes that consulted a squdilate board to find missing people and obtain advice from the spiritual world.
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Read more at Suite101: Talking Boards Evolve into Ouija: The Ancient Talking Board Becomes Modernized divining.suite101.com...
"

reply to post by JohnPhoenix


your answer is in your very question to me my friend.
Now, if nothing more than a harmless child's game, how do you explain all the paranormal things that happen when people use them?

What paranormal thing's?
has any been documented or scientifically proven?

Devil worshiper's use the thing's too i suppose..
i bet they try to get demons to destroy the world too...yet the world still stands and parker brothers is raking in the money.

Nothing happens paranormal wise beside what you want to happen.
and if your using a board you want something to happen therefor it does...a cat sneeze's outside next thing you know you get cold chill's and freak out swearing to never use that evil board game again.

reply to post by Titen-Sxull


i see what you mean.
people go about graveyards, some even carry a bible with them
they go about asking questions and "provoking spirits" going to bridges and shouting "i killed your baby!" and they go up to the attic with a tape recorder or evp device and ask questions, but you pull out a ouiji board
and they go "DEVIL BOARD NO!" or you ask if they want their future told and you get "DEVIL CARDS NO!"
its pure hypocrasy if you ask me

maybe if the ouiji board is so dangerous we should ban literacy as well
lol

reply to post by JohnPhoenix

Now, if nothing more than a harmless child's game, how do you explain all the paranormal things that happen when people use them?

NO.

How do YOU explain the paranormal experiences that take place WITHOUT a Ouija board?

IF the board is anything but the simple alphabet and a pointer than where is the proof of that? In other words, what is the inherently dangerous thing about the alphabet and a pointer that makes this board DIFFERENT from just simply asking that any spirits near you show a sign they are there ALOUD?

Also, since most of the stories of paranormal occurrences with a Ouija board are anecdotal and there is no evidence of them they don't hold of the weight of something as substantial as an EVP.

Furthermore the psychological state of the average person sitting down to use a Ouija board is typically not one of hard-line skepticism. In other words, those that seek to experience it are in the right psychological state to believe almost anything that occurs in conjunction with its use as paranormal - they are ready and willing and in many cases DESIRING to be spooked.

Do not forget that the human variable is present, ideomotor effect explains how subconscious movements could account for the pointer moving without the conscious decision of those touching it. That human variable almost entirely kills any argument that the mere moving of the pointer was paranormal BUT if the person using the board believes the movement WAS paranormal they are now in a psychological state to infer OTHER EVENTS in their lives are paranormal even if they are not. For instance, a spooked teen using a Ouija board has his favorite pet die mysteriously or has the lights flicker on and off in the house when he is alone - this is not inherently paranormal but spooked teen is now sure his life is being haunted by spirits because of the Ouija board.

And please don't take me as a hard-core refuse to believe kinda skeptic, I've had paranormal experiences before BUT debunking is extraordinarily important in finding what is TRULY paranormal and what is wrongly perceived as such because of superstition.

[edit on 28-5-2010 by Titen-Sxull]

if your not kicking yourself yet the final part lol


so in conclusion it's BS
as they say on the show.

I believe they are bad news, possibly allow evil spirits to enter your life. I had a negative experience as i had bought one, the board spelled out a spirits, complete with a name (don't ask, I don't remember) who wanted my wife (at the time) to die so it could have her with him. Seemed like a lustful entity. I finally had enough and although very difficult, I destroyed it (supposedly a big no no) and had a one year streak of bad luck. Don't even take a cjance and play with these things. Like the commercial stated, Ouija board, just a game....or is it?

Originally posted by jymmyjaymes
I believe they are bad news, possibly allow evil spirits to enter your life. I had a negative experience as i had bought one, the board spelled out a spirits, complete with a name (don't ask, I don't remember) who wanted my wife (at the time) to die so it could have her with him. Seemed like a lustful entity. I finally had enough and although very difficult, I destroyed it (supposedly a big no no) and had a one year streak of bad luck. Don't even take a cjance and play with these things. Like the commercial stated, Ouija board, just a game....or is it?

i think your stories full of holes and your telling half truths! tell the real story!
give a detailed acount or be acused of trolling

sorry to be harsh but ive heard it all before and its not logic.
besides what does a ghost want with sex?
if he really wanted your wife he could of possesed you, and im not gunna go into details i hope you know what im saying.
bad luck for a year huh?
please describe some unlucky events from that year

reply to post by ashanu90


He needed to smack the buddy of his playing the game with him.
sounds to me he was wanting his wife.
If he didn't move the thing..his buddy did lol

i bet his wifes ears at the time perked up lol

sorry i had to say it.

This thread misses the whole point it's not the board itself but the "INTENT" of the user the board is merely a tool thoughts can be just as dangerous.

It might sound strange but if you have a real intent or belief behind something it usually is achievable, tools may help a lot of people get there whether that's due to simple belief that they will is something debatable but I think quite likely.

So if you really so not believe they can't work they probably won't but if you have doubts even subconsciously I'd recommend staying clear.

[edit on 28-5-2010 by winterwarlock]

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull
I've gone into cemeteries and other purportedly haunted locations asking questions out loud to any spirits there... is this less or more dangerous than having something with the alphabet on it?

Many claims I've seen made by board believers is that the Ouija board can act as a portal or conduit for spirits to manifest themselves or even enter a persons body... How is this possible via the alphabet with a little pointer and is this impossible when doing a simple EVP session style of questioning?

The whole thing is subject to a mish-mosh of varying superstitions and beliefs about the board and its paranormal properties.

If a Ouija board is dangerous than shouldn't we also ban computer keyboards or the alphabet from our kindergarten classes

The whole idea is absurd and is, as I stated, subject to the fatal variable of human interference.

My understanding is this. The pointer moved due to an effect similar to that which occurs in dowsing, known as the ideomotor effect. This is a fancy name for involuntary/unconscious movement, such as a dowser's hand flicking enough to move his stick when he passes over an area he knows has water. Or rather, this is what psychologists will have you believe.

Any person who plays with one long enough can tell you there comes a point in time when it's moving so fast, you actually have to put a lot of pressure down on the planchette just to keep contact with it while it's moving. You can even at this point try to hold back one hand that's touching it with the other and you can feel that there is now a force pushing and pulling it that cannot be you. Feel free to repeat this experiment for yourself.

Spirits can influence your thinking. That's what almost every major religion teaches us. While using a Ouija board one is usually in a light state of meditation/concentration. Some experts believe that contact with spirits can be easier at this time. Not necessarily your dead aunt Matilda but entities possibly from other plains of existence of other dimensions. It is these who help your hand be guided to where it wants the pointer to move. The stronger the connection, the more influence the entity can have on the pointer through you.

Although at this time this can not be scientifically proven, experimentation seems to bear out the common results.

It is also speculated that it is the subconscious mind alone which causes these movements to happen.

Psychologist also use automatic writing as a tool for therapy and it works on the same principle as the Ouija board. This is used as a way to get in contact with you subconscious mind for problem solving. This can be accomplished using only pencil and paper.. no need to spend 20 bucks on a Ouija board.

Here, let me Google that for you: lmgtfy.com...

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull
reply to post by JohnPhoenix

 

Now, if nothing more than a harmless child's game, how do you explain all the paranormal things that happen when people use them?

NO.

How do YOU explain the paranormal experiences that take place WITHOUT a Ouija board?


[edit on 28-5-2010 by Titen-Sxull]

Ahh.. Now that's a horse of another color.. give my fingers a few minutes for a typing break and i'll give you my views on that.

reply to post by winterwarlock

the board is merely a tool thoughts can be just as dangerous.

So ghosts respond to our thoughts? Does this mean I can command my ghostly minions to haunt people? Sounds like it would be less dangerous and more awesome, not to mention it would make the paranormal obviously real as opposed to an open question.

It might sound strange but if you have a real intent or belief behind something it usually is achievable

I would go one step further and say that its a placebo effect, people want to believe and go into the use of the board with the INTENT to contact the dead - cue the ideomotor response, the pointer moves and just like that they are convinced its paranormal and can take events in their life that ARE NOT paranormal and assume they ARE.

reply to post by JohnPhoenix

While using a Ouija board one is usually in a light state of meditation/concentration

I think the opposite, when one uses a Ouija board one is in a heightened state of gullibility and is usually WANTING something paranormal to take place, this desire could cause people to mistake the ideomotor effect for real paranormal experiences.

Although at this time this can not be scientifically proven, experimentation seems to bear out the common results.

As I said, the variable of the human using it makes the experiment essentially invalid.

Psychologist also use automatic writing as a tool for therapy and it works on the same principle as the Ouija board

I used to doodle using "automatic writing", sometimes the results looked like runes or characters from some sort of language but never once was I under the impression that some spirit was influencing me.

In conclusion:

The case for the Ouija board having any supernatural properties or even being an ample method for contacting the dead has not yet been supported sufficiently - at least in my opinion.

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull

How do YOU explain the paranormal experiences that take place WITHOUT a Ouija board?

IF the board is anything but the simple alphabet and a pointer than where is the proof of that? In other words, what is the inherently dangerous thing about the alphabet and a pointer that makes this board DIFFERENT from just simply asking that any spirits near you show a sign they are there ALOUD?

Also, since most of the stories of paranormal occurrences with a Ouija board are anecdotal and there is no evidence of them they don't hold of the weight of something as substantial as an EVP.

Furthermore the psychological state of the average person sitting down to use a Ouija board is typically not one of hard-line skepticism. In other words, those that seek to experience it are in the right psychological state to believe almost anything that occurs in conjunction with its use as paranormal - they are ready and willing and in many cases DESIRING to be spooked.


[edit on 28-5-2010 by Titen-Sxull]

I see we do agree on some things. I don't believe there is anything about the board itself that makes these types of experiences possible. I do believe that physical contact with instruments can enhance the experience but this is not always the case. But any danger can lie in the fact the the physical contact can make the connection stronger, and thus the entity can have greater influence over the subject. I think we have studied much of the same material. I agree, an EVP is better suited for evidence. I also agree that the psychological makeup of the subject has an influence on the outcome.

Now as far as the things that happen without a board, I believe there are at least several factors at work. The state of mind of the observer, as well as the emotions of those around him. I do not believe that all ghost are dead humans. If there really is a type of entity that wishes to make itself known, it will do so if it can find a way. Evidence seems to suggest they pull energy from the surroundings to manifest themselves in whatever form.

I have seen paranormal things like poltergeist when no one was using a Ouija board.

There is much evidence that emotional need can play a role in paranormal experiences. Such as people seeing dead relatives.

Until such time as science has the tools to measure such things better than we do now, we may never know the full truth.

reply to post by Titen-Sxull


I don't believe that we can influence the entities, rather they influence our hands to move through the subconscious mind.

I believe the ideomotor response only goes so far, then there comes a time when it is less and more paranormal forces are at work to move the pointer.. just as my suggested experiment.

I do also believe that there are people who play with the boards anbd the results they get are from their subconscious mind because these are what they expect and desire. however, I do not believe this is always the case.

EDIT:

You say, " In conclusion:

The case for the Ouija board having any supernatural properties or even being an ample method for contacting the dead has not yet been supported sufficiently - at least in my opinion. "

I agree with that. There is nothing in itself magic about the board that causes this phenomena to happen. Nor do I believe it is reliable to contact the dead.

[edit on 28-5-2010 by JohnPhoenix]

Originally posted by Titen-Sxull
reply to post by ashanu90

 

I've been on paranormal investigations before and had plenty of weird things happen to me WITHOUT the use of the Ouija board. How is it that the alphabet on a piece of wood or cardboard is dangerous, more dangerous than, say, using an EVP session type of technique.

I've gone into cemeteries and other purportedly haunted locations asking questions out loud to any spirits there... is this less or more dangerous than having something with the alphabet on it?

The whole thing is subject to a mish-mosh of varying superstitions and beliefs about the board and its paranormal properties.

If a Ouija board is dangerous than shouldn't we also ban computer keyboards or the alphabet from our kindergarten classes

The whole idea is absurd and is, as I stated, subject to the fatal variable of human interference.

Titen at what point in our evolutionary development did we develop gene's that pick up paranormal activity? And would not paranormal activity also tend to lean toward a spirit realm? And if so would that in it's self point to a Higher being? I'm sorry I was just wondering why a evolutionist like yourself would dabble with paranormal activity while denying the existance of God.

reply to post by Loken68

Titen at what point in our evolutionary development did we develop gene's that pick up paranormal activity?

We don't have a very good ability at picking out the paranormal from the normal, this is one of the reasons why even though I've had paranormal experiences I still approach it skeptically. Human beings are extraordinarily willing to believe almost anything which is why the Ouija board gets a bad rep. Our perceptions are also quite flawed making it even harder to determine what is paranormal and what is not.

And would not paranormal activity also tend to lean toward a spirit realm? And if so would that in it's self point to a Higher being?

Not necessarily. Investigating what is considered paranormal might lead to NATURAL explanations in the same way that studying bio-diversity led to the discovery of Evolution.

Paranormal merely means "above what we PERCEIVE as normal within reality as we understand it" and in that way it may be seen as a place-holder. In other words we call these events paranormal but further investigation might find the aforementioned natural or NORMAL explanations for them.

The existence of an after-life does not immediately assume the existence of a God or Higher Power though the most typical depictions of an after-life do involve deities. Most of the talk of spirits and entities stems from personal belief rather than actual evidence or experience, in other words the assertion that the "paranormal" is caused by the spirits of the deceased is one that is not based upon evidence but upon faith.

I myself have had paranormal experiences but I wouldn't be presumptuous enough to claim that spirits of the dead were what caused them, there are other options to consider...

reply to post by Titen-Sxull


Go ahead I'm listening...and those other options are?

reply to post by Loken68


As I said, natural or normal explanations

Like for the Ouija board the explanation I've already given several times over of the Ideomotor response/effect which is when the body moves without the person mentally telling it to.

For hearing voices or seeing apparitions there are multiple alternative explanations to be considered before assuming said event is paranormal such as hallucinations caused by chemical imbalance, electro-magnetic sensitivity, etc.

Or things like Old Hag Syndrome (sleep paralysis) that explain both some nighttime ghost encounters AND some alien abduction cases.

Exploding head syndrome is another, generally speaking its a sensation of loud noise, an auditory hallucination that bursts in suddenly and then dissipates.

Or the human variable, an example:

I might be sitting at my computer typing away this response when I hear a mysterious voice and assume that it is paranormal... Later on I might come to find that voices of people just outside my house, noisy neighbors perhaps, might have caused the voice. The assumption that its paranormal is based on the fact that I am alone, unaware of those outside, and unaware of the ability of their voices to carry through my walls and be loud enough to mistake them for being very nearby.

When debunking them in such a way fails there are other prevalent ideas within the paranormal community to consider. One of the preferred theories is the one about Electro-Magnetic energy, basically that spirits are the consciousness of the dead manifested in this EM Field. While this idea doesn't have scientific backing it is certainly more attractive to believers than the theory that all their experiences can be explained away.

We might also study the paranormal and find something we did not expect or predict.

One thing is for sure, either the paranormal is just another element of the normal we do not understand or the paranormal is merely the misunderstood NORMAL. In simple terms either we will discover the paranormal is actually a part of the normal reality and accept it into our current paradigm or we will find it can all be explained away as a blend of superstition, flawed perception, and hallucination.

reply to post by Titen-Sxull


Thank you Titen for your reply.