The Mysterious Shadow People

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Picture yourself in this scenario: You’re sitting comfortably on your sofa while you're browsing the pages of a magazine in your dimly-lit room. Then, all of a sudden, you noticed a movement across the room from the corner of your eye. The figure was dark and shadow-like, but you knew that should not be possible since you’re the only one there. Naturally, you gave it a second and closer look and verified that there was really nothing there. And so, you shrug off the eerie feeling swirling inside your stomach and returned to reading your magazine. But then, a few moments later, there it was again!

This time around, you looked up swiftly and saw a fleeting shadow that’s distinctly shaped like a human pass over the far wall. And once again, it disappeared without a trace.

What was that? Was that just some natural shadow from the dim lighting of your room? Or was that just a figment of your imagination? A ghost? Or is it possible that it’s an otherworldly being lurking in the shadows that seems to be a part of a spreading phenomenon of apparitions known as the “shadow people”?

What are the Shadow People?

The shadow people are perceived entities that appear as a patch of shadow shaped as a living, humanoid figure, which are usually interpreted by believers in the paranormal or supernatural as the presence of spirits or some otherworldly entities.

Tales of these human-like shadows come from different parts of the world. Most of these shadow creatures appear through our periphery vision, and people who see them are often unable to describe in detail the features of these mystical entities apart from their human-like forms and the occasional reports of fiery red eyes. Some shadow people materialize wearing the clothing of a Medieval monk while some emerge with a fedora on their heads. There are also reports of bald as well as genderless shadow entities.

Though it was generally believed that people can only see brief glimpses of these bizarre creatures, more and more people are claiming to see them straight on and for longer periods of time. Some of them just trek through the rooms of our homes at night, while others lurk in the doorways just watching us, day after day. However, there are those who give off a very menacing vibe and reeks of malevolent intent that seemingly feed on people’s fear.

The term “shadow people” is a general name for all kinds of strange beings that display certain similar characteristics, though their origins can be varied, and the behavior they exhibit can be very diverse as well. Moreover, the majority of these unusual entities can be classified into five categories: positive shadows, negative shadows, red-eyed shadows, hooded shadows, and the shadow entity known as The Hat Man.

Positive shadows are those that seem to pass by through people’s lives. They appear to walk with purpose through the room, never straying the path they walk on, and never acknowledging the person nearby. They never give off a threatening presence, but it could be very eerie to see them trespassing in your home without regard to those who live there.

Negative shadows are characterized by their tendency just to lurk and watch humans go about their business. However, unlike the positive shadow people, human beings inside a room with a lurking negative shadow tend to be swept over by the feeling of extreme terror when they spot them. A more negative version of these entities are the red-eyed shadows, which are known to stare at humans with their blazing red eyes. Eyewitnesses claim that they feel that this shadowed figure feeds on their fear.

There are also hooded shadows dressed as an ancient monk. Some people claim that this is also a malevolent entity, as eyewitnesses sense a deep rage emanating from this hooded figure. There is also a shadow creature known as the Hat Man. This entity is probably the most curious one of them all. The Hat Man appears to many people in various cultures across the globe, and he is seen dressed in an old-time business suit and wearing a fedora.  

Explanations Behind the Shadow People

The mysterious sightings of the shadow people have become a hot topic of conversation in the online world for years. Those who have seen these dark figures and believe in them wonder what these creatures really are and where they come from. To come up with suitable answers for these questions, a number of theories have been offered by believers and paranormal experts, and skeptics and mainstream science alike.

Although most reported encounters with the shadow people are very passive, there are some that are not so innocent. Negative shadows, red-eyed shadows and hooded shadows, for example, all give off the uncomfortable sensation of horror and terror when chanced upon by human beings. From a religious standpoint, these creatures are referred to in several scriptures and cultures with different names – demons in the Christian faith, jinn in Islam, sgili in the tradition of American Indians, and more.

There are also those who are of the opinion that the shadow people could be some form of ghosts or some manifestation of a residual memory of an individual whose bit of energy lingered in the mortal world even after that person’s spirit has already crossed over to the other side. There are also proposals that the shadow people are the embodiments of actual people whose physical bodies are elsewhere but are engaged in astral projection.

Another paranormal explanation for these dark entities is that they are interdimensional beings. Some support this theory strongly because theoretical physicists believe the laws of physics allow for other dimensions to exist and for beings to crossover. In the same vein of this theory, there also those who suspect extraterrestrials or aliens to be the shadow people and that go about their daily agenda on our planet disguised in the shadows.

Mainstream science and skeptics reject these paranormal or a supernatural theories because they currently cannot detect or test such phenomena. Maybe the answer lies beyond science.

Imagination

The simplest and most likely explanation for the mysterious phenomenon of the shadow people – and is usually the one brought up by those who have never seen these creatures for themselves – is that it is caused by nothing more than human beings’ active imagination. Some people who have encountered a shadow person easily account the experience as nothing more than their minds playing tricks on them, and could simply be an illusion that was never really there. No doubt that many of these claimed encounters can be explained by people’s imaginations running wild since the human eye and the mind is easily fooled. But can they account for all cases of this phenomenon?

Science

Most reported encounters with these shadow people can be explained by modern science, particularly by the workings of the human brain. Some of the details shared by people when they encountered a shadow entity are analogous to those that occur in cases of sleep paralysis. Many eyewitnesses claim that their experiences involving the shadow people occur just when they are about to fall asleep or right after they wake up. Many of them are also in bed during these encounters, and they report sensations of being held down, a tightness gripping their chest as if there was a person lying on top of them, and the inability to breathe. These unpleasant feeling only subside once the shadow is gone.

Physiologically, these sensations could be explained by conditions known as hypnagogic and/or hypnopompic paralysis. The hypnagogic and hypnopompic states are states of consciousness that occur between the “normal awake” state of consciousness and sleep. Hypnagogic state occurs just before a person falls asleep, while hypnopompic state occurs just before waking up.

It is the natural process of the human body to go through a natural state of paralysis once a person enters the REM stage of sleep, as this serves as a deterrent from us possibly physically acting out our dreams in the real world. Temporary and unpleasant sleep paralysis can happen when this mechanism sets in sooner than usual – before the individual is fully asleep – or persists longer than usual – after the person has seemingly fully awoken. This causes a person to be completely aware of his surroundings, and yet is still unable to flex a single inch of his body.

In this state, an individual is also able to perceive the images formed in their subconscious mind consciously even when they are supposedly still or already awake. These hallucinations may seem like they are real since they can be detected by some, if not all, of a person’s sensory perceptions. People can even experience auditory, smell, tactile, taste, and even visual phenomena while in the state of hypnagogia or hynopompia. Sufferers of this neurological phenomenon have also reported seeing faces while experiencing these states.

Pareidolia

But what if a person saw a shadow creature while he or she is neither about to sleep nor had just awakened from sleep? In many cases, people who claim to have encountered the shadow people report that they saw these enigmatic entities through the corner of their eye or what is known as their peripheral vision. This area of human vision has been determined to be connected with the area of the brain whose main function is to detect and identify familiar patterns. However, this area also provides fewer and more crude or inaccurate details to the brain than people’s forward or central vision does. While this mechanism is very helpful to our day-to-day functions, there are also instances that it could result in a psychological phenomenon referred to as pareidolia.

Pareidolia is a type of illusion or misperception in which the brain inaccurately makes something out of patterns of shadow and light when in reality, these patterns are completely random and only contain a few features that make them look like they are figures or faces of animals or humans. Aside from explaining the detection of the shadow people, this phenomenon also provides a psychological explanation for many other paranormal apparitions and visions like UFO or Bigfoot sightings. It also explains why some people see the face of Jesus in a toast or a face in a photograph of the Cydonia region of Mars.  

There is no way to prove or disprove any of the more mysterious and paranormal explanations for seeing the shadow people, especially since science, the way it is at the moment, finds it virtually impossible to collect measurable data and tangible proof to study such phenomena in any empirically-sound and methodical way. Whether believer or skeptic, people can document as many anecdotal accounts and personal experiences of these mysterious entities and try to piece them together in the most objective and open-minded way until the time comes that science discovers or develops the tool we need to finally confirm or reject the existence of the shadow people.

What can be said for sure is this: While encountering a shadow entity can be weird and scary for some people, it is also a fascinating and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that allows people to witness the true power of the human brain and the extent of what it can do.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_person
http://mysteriousuniverse.org/2012/03/the-lurking-shadow-people/
https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4175
https://www.thoughtco.com/shadow-people-2596772
http://www.greatest-unsolved-mysteries.com/shadow-people.html
http://www.higherjourneys.com/shadow-people-paranormal-or-normal-reality/
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/march142010/crossroads.php
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/mystery-shadow-people
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2552427/pdf/jnma00036-0033.pdf

Clues that Real-Life Portals to Other Dimensions Do Exist

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Are there other realities out there aside from our own? Are there parallel dimensions lying just a thin veil beyond our own, which we could only take rare glimpses of through interdimensional portals?

The idea of parallel realities - or other dimensions that closely resemble the reality that we know of - is not entirely new to mankind. Parallel universes were once dwelled on by the likes of Greek philosophers such as Plato, and was even mathematically proposed by a Princeton University graduate student named Hugh Everett back in 1954. Not long after that, Bryce Seligman DeWitt introduced Everett’s theory to the masses, referring to it as the “Many-worlds Interpretation.”

There are many theories that attempt to answer the question of whether or not there are other planes of existence aside from the one we are in now, but at present, the thought of traveling and interacting with these parallel worlds are still relegated to nothing more than science fiction, becoming the subject of many far-fetched stories as far back as Edwin A. Abbott’s 1884 novel, “Flatland: A romance of Many Dimensions” and in modern materials like Philip K. Dick’s novel “The Man in the High Castle” and in the television program “Sliders.” In these fictional stories, we are only given a hypothetical glance to worlds like – but also not quite like – our own, but so far, it’s just not possible at the moment to physically travel to these many worlds even if they are real.

However, in pursuit of finding out whether there are other dimensions and if there are real-life portals which can be used to reach them, experts in the fields of science and the paranormal and supernatural have pointed out potential “clues” that support the theory that we are living in one of many parallel dimensions.

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Ghosts & Paranormal Activity

Our First Clue – Ghost and Paranormal Activities. Many people believe that ghosts or spirits could be from some other dimension of existence, and many paranormal researchers are of the opinion that there are special locations in different parts of the world that actually serve as “doorways” from our world to another. These doorways are believed by some people to serve the not-so-obvious purpose of providing access to unusual entities that enter or want to enter our world. These entities could be the spirits or souls of the people who once lived before, or they could also be creatures of a different kind altogether. Some even believe that these “ghosts” are nothing magical, but are actually just otherworldly beings that came from and lived in another dimension.

While this sounds a little far-fetched, the idea is not as ludicrous as it sounds. Different unidentified have been seen, reported and even captured in photographs and videos in places a lot of people believe to be “portals” to the world of the spirits of the dead. These locations could have easily been labeled as “haunted” in the past because people saw inexplicable things near these places that they were not able to rationally explain. And so, these doorways, and the odd entities that pass through them, may just be the explanation that many experts have been looking for in explaining hundreds of cases of “ghost” sightings that have dumbfounded paranormal research for many, many years.

The Déjà vu Phenomenon

Second Clue – The Déjà vu Phenomenon. Some of us have had, at least once in our lifetime personally experienced déjà vu – that feeling or impression that you have previously witnessed, encountered or experienced a situation that you know should be happening for the first time. For a long time, this strange sensation has been associated to a variety of things from wilder theories such as paranormal disturbances to more medical explanations like neurological disorders. But an intriguing possibility that explains this phenomenon is the possibility that there is hidden and still-unknown connection between déjà vu and parallel universes.

According to Dr. Michio Kaku, an American futurist and theoretical physicist, parallel universes could be plausible explanation of the mysterious déjà vu phenomenon. And according to him, quantum physics has provided sufficient data that should allow us to consider and entertain the suggestion that déjà vu might occur due to a person’s special ability to “flip between universes.”

Nobel laureate Steve Weinberg likens the multiple universe theory to radio. In our universe, we are “tuned” into a specific frequency that keeps us in sync to the physical reality that we are aware of. However, in this theory, there are, as it turns our, an infinite number of parallel realities that are currently coexisting with us in the same room or place. However, we ordinarily do not possess the ability and the means to “tune into” them. These worlds are very similar with one another but each of them has a distinctive energy signature that sets all of them apart from the rest. Because the frequency of these waves are said to be proportional to their energy, this means that the waves of each world that exists at the same time are vibrating at various frequencies, which prevents them from interacting with or influencing each other.

However, when you experience déjà vu, some believe it is not completely impossible that at that exact moment, you are actually “vibrating in unison” with the frequency of another universe that is parallel with our own.

Dreams

Third Clue – Dreams. For millennia, people have been curious to figure out the true meaning behind every person’s dreams. Ancient Greeks and Romans, for example, believed that dreams were actually the means used by gods to send their messages to mankind. In ancient China, dreams were thought of as a way for people to visit the realm of the dead. Many Native American tribes as well as certain Mexican civilizations, hold the belief that dreams were different worlds people visit when they sleep.

It is not uncommon for people to have recurring dreams about places they had never visited and had even heard of. Similar to the déjà vu phenomenon, perhaps it is also possible that such dreams are just momentary glimpses of what a person has experienced while in a different plane of existence or a parallel world. Sometimes, people also dream of events that have yet to transpire at the time they were dreamed but turned out to have happened at a later day or time. Such dreams may be images that were for some reason received from an alternate world, and in that reality, people are leading different lives from the people in our world.

While this is of course based on pure speculation for now, scientists have been hard at work in studying and learning more about dreams, and many of these experts have become more and more open in entertaining the theory that multiple parallel universes exist simultaneously with our own plane of existence. It may also very well be proven later on in the not-so distant future that some of the mysterious and special dreams that we have dreamed and will continue to dream about could be crude glimpses of parallel worlds that possibly exist just right next to or simultaneously with our own reality.

Gravity & Black Holes

Finally, the Fourth and Final Clue on our list – Gravity and Black Holes. As far as what modern science tells us, we all live in four dimensions, three of which are of space and one is of time. Physicists also taught us about the four forces that control the way that particles interact with each other – electromagnetism, strong and weak nuclear forces, and gravity. Out of all of them, gravity is by far the weakest, and it is a mystery to modern science why that is so.

According to some physicists, one possibility that answers this question is that we are just only experiencing a fraction of gravity, with the rest of its force existing partly in separate dimension or in many extra dimensions that we still cannot perceive. Though entertaining the idea of extra dimensions may seem to qualify in the realm of science fiction, proving its existence could explain why the universe is expanding faster than expected, and why gravity is weaker than the other forces of nature.

One theory of particle physics suggests that there are several extra dimensions, and black holes might be the key to reaching them, and this means that black holes could be portals to other universes. The speculation over the existence of these extra dimensions have gone beyond theory, with researchers using the Large Hardon Collider at CERN in Geneva to look for signs of extra dimensions by creating tiny black holes. However, exactly when the LHC might find the evidence it needs to prove the existence of extra dimensions and the portals that lead to them remains uncertain.

Are we really just one of many alternate realities stacked upon one another? And if multiple dimensions do exist, are there portals that make shifting and travelling to planes of existence other than our own possible? The answers are elusive, and experts, believers and skeptics alike may continue to pour over and debate them forever.

Nevertheless, there will always be those who will continue to look out into our universe and perhaps even within ourselves for such answers, for as long as there is the probability and possibility that worlds beyond our own exist somewhere out there or even in our midst.

Why Are People Worldwide Dreaming About This Man?

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Have you ever dreamed about “This Man”? If you did, did he comfort or befriend you in your dreams? Or was he a malevolent entity that attempted to harm you in your nightmares? If you have dreamed of him, then you are one of thousands across that world who believe to have encountered “This Man” in their dreams at one point or several instances of their lives. This phenomenon became a viral Internet legend several years ago, and websites are also available online which are specially dedicated to describe people’s personal experiences of dreaming of “This Man.”

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Background on “This Man”

According to the “This Man” website allegedly set up by those who have dreamed about the strange man, every night throughout the world, hundreds of people dream about this man’s face. This dream-related phenomenon supposedly dates back in January 2006 in New York. As the story goes, the patient of a well-known psychiatrist drew the face of a man repeatedly appearing in her dreams. In more than one occasion, the man had provided her some advice concerning her private life, but the woman swears that she never met the man in real life. 

The portrait of the man was set aside on the psychiatrist’s desk for a few days until one day another patient pointed out the portrait. He recognized the face in the drawing, saying that the man had often visited him in his dreams. Similar to the claims of the female patient of the psychiatrist, he claims that he has never seen the man in his waking life. 

Finding it odd for two people to dream the same stranger, the psychiatrist decided to send the portrait of the man to some of his colleagues who had patients with recurrent dreams. Within just a few months, four patients turned up, claiming to recognize the man as a frequent presence in their own dreams. All the patients referred to the man appearing their dream as “This Man.”

Since the first reported appearance of “This Man” in people’s dreams in 2006, at least 2000 people have reportedly claimed to have all seen the same man in their dreams. The man has allegedly appeared in the dreams of many people in many cities all over the world, including Los Angeles, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Tehran, Beijing, Rome, Barcelona, Stockholm, Paris, New Delhi and Moscow.

According to the “This Man” website, there are currently no ascertained relation or common trait among the people that have dreamed of the strange man. What’s even stranger is that supposedly no real man in the waking world has ever been recognized as resembling the man drawn on the portrait by those who have seen him in their dreams. 

Because of this mystery, it has become the ultimate objective of some people to find out the real identity of “This Man” and figure out the reason why he randomly appears in the dreams of a diverse set of human subjects in a variety of unrelated situations. 

Theories Allegedly Explaining About “This Man”

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The website dedicated to the “This Man” phenomenon has also enumerated and discussed several theories which have supposedly been developed to explain the mysteriously recurring presence of the man in the dreams of a wide variety of people who are not related with each other in any way. Some of these theories are said to have elicited great interest among those who have dreamed of the strange man, and these include the archetype theory, the religious theory, the dream surfer theory, the dream imitation theory and the daytime recognition theory. 

Based on Carl Jung’s psychoanalytic theory, “This Man” is speculated to be an archetypal image belonging to humanity’s collective unconscious. This archetype appears in times of a person’s hardship, emotional development, dramatic changes in life and stressful circumstances. And because it is part of the collective unconscious of all people, it makes sense that the man shows up in the dreams of several individuals over the course of several years though they not-at-all related with each other. 

There is also another theory about the phenomenon that is founded on religious beliefs. According to this theory, “This Man” is the image of the Creator himself, and that this particular form is one of the many faces in which God manifests himself before mortal beings. And because the appearance of this man is God’s way of revealing himself to people, it is also believed that whatever he utters during the dreams he appears in should be decidedly followed by the dreamers. 

The “Dream Surfer” theory is probably the most interesting theory involving the appearance of the same man in the dreams of many people. But while it promises the greatest and most amazing implications, it is also a theory with the lowest scientific credibility. According to this theory, “This Man” is a real person who happens to have the ability to enter the dreams of other people using specific yet unknown psychological skills. There are those who supposedly believe that the man who appears in their dreams looks exactly the same in real life. However, others, on the other hand, think that the man in the dreams looks entirely different from his real-life counterpart. There are also speculations that the man is part of an elaborate mental conditioning plan developed by a powerful corporation. 

There is also a scientific psycho-sociological theory which claims that the phenomenon arose casually but has since progressively spread among members of the public by imitation. This means that people who have read or heard about this phenomenon online or through other people who claims to have personally dreamt of the man have become so fascinated and involved with the phenomenon that they started seeing this man in their dreams as well. 

Another theory states that apparitions of “This Man” in dreams of people are purely casual. Ordinarily, people do not recall the exact appearance and faces of people they see in their dreams. And so, the image of “This Man” is supposedly an instrument which facilitates the recognition of an undefined image that have appeared during people’s dream states. 

“This Man” Is A Hoax

For years, the mysterious story about the same man visiting the dreams of people have spread across various online blogs, discussion forums and even social media communities, where lengthy conversations about the alleged phenomenon’s validity and debunking have ensued. 

And so, this leads us to ask a one simple and very important question: Is there really a strange man appearing in the dreams of unrelated people? As it turns out, we never really needed a special theory to explain the “This Man” phenomenon after all, because the whole thing was just one big hoax.

The website – ThisMan.org – is actually the creation of Italian sociologist and marketing strategist Andrea Natella. It was also revealed that Natella runs a company called Guerrilla Marketing, which stages “subversive hoaxes” and creates weird art projects that are mostly about pornography, politics and advertising. The site was also briefly acquired by horror movie production company Ghost House Pictures as part of the promotion for a planned film titled “This Man,” which was supposed to be directed by Bryan Bertino based on a screenplay he also penned. 

Regardless of the validity or falsity of this phenomenon, it cannot be ignored that the most-likely real reason “This Man” has gone viral as an internet story is that this fictional entity actually represents the image of “Every Man.” The Face of “This Man” is an amalgamation of many common facial features, which were probably added into the fake portrait showing the man’s face to rouse a sense of familiarity among the public. This myriad of common features may have been the reason why many people from all over the world thought “This Man” looked very familiar as if they had seen him before. And it is this familiarity in this fictional person’s face that has probably perpetuated the viral nature of “This Man.” 

Although the “This Man” phenomenon turned out to be just one of many false stories and urban myths that are found online and have gone viral among members of the global internet community, the way that it has piqued the people’s interest and the extent of its impact as a sensationalized, fabricated internet legend cannot be easily dismissed. Neither are the rest of us allowed to be so quick in putting down and ridiculing those who still continue to insist that “This Man” actually exists and that he has actually appeared in people’s dreams. Who knows? Maybe we just don’t have enough evidence to prove that “This Man” is real after all. 

Sources:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/5388286/why-are-thousands-of-people-dreaming-about-this-man
http://www.thisman.org/history.htm
http://www.thisman.org/theories.htm
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/have-you-ever-dreamed-of-this-man-111
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/this-man-ever-dream-this-man
https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/we-got-hoaxed-about-that-this-man-dream-haunter-979
http://www.world-of-lucid-dreaming.com/ever-dream-this-man.html
http://www.andreanatella.it/
https://www.facebook.com/thisman.org

Unexplained Phenomenon of Spontaneous Human Combustion

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The enigma of spontaneous human combustion (SHC) is among the most bizarre and frightening phenomena in the world of unexplained mysteries. For centuries, people have debated the possibility of humans spontaneously combusting or randomly bursting into flames without an external trigger. Many people believe that stories of people spontaneously catching fire are just urban legends and never actually happened. But there are scientists, and psychical researchers extensively studying this strange phenomenon and believe incidents of people turning into charred remains and ashes are very rare yet real occurrences. 

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What is Spontaneous Human Combustion?

Spontaneous combustion occurs when a person bursts into flames from an internal chemical reaction, apparently without being ignited by an external heat source. The first known accounts happened in the 17th century, but during the 19th century spontaneous combustions gained wider exposure after the popular author, Charles Dickens, killed off a character in his book “Bleak House.” Critics attacked Dickens for legitimizing an urban myth, but the author pointed to research showing 30 historical cases of the phenomenon. 

Hundreds of spontaneous human combustion accounts over hundreds of years follow a pattern: the victim is almost completely consumed and usually at home. Witnesses of the scene sometimes reported a sweet, smoky smell in the room. Oddly, the charred bodies' extremities often remain intact. While the torso and head burn beyond recognition, the hands, feet, and even part of the legs may be unburned. Also, the room around the burned victim shows little or no signs of fire besides a greasy residue sometimes left on furniture and walls. 

Not all cases involving spontaneous human combustion end up with victims completely burning into flames. Some people even develop strange burns on their body which have no obvious cause or emanate smoke from their body when there's no fire. Moreover, not every person who caught on fire died in the process. A small percentage of people allegedly survived their experience. 

Tales of Spontaneous Human Combustion

During the last 300 years, over 200 reports exist of people burning to a crisp for no clear reason. Many people believe the history of spontaneous human combustion traces back to early texts of the Bible and medieval literature.

The first reliable evidence of bizarre phenomenon appears from 1641 when Danish physician, Thomas Bartholin, detailed the death of Polonus Vorstius in his book "Historiarum Anatomicarum Rariorum," which is a collection of strange medical phenomena. Vorstius was an Italian knight in 1470 who, while at home in Milan, drank a powerful wine and began to vomit fire before bursting into flames. 

Then in 1673, Frenchman Jonas Dupont published a collection of Spontaneous Human Combustion cases and studies entitled De Incendiis Corporis Humani Spontaneis. 

One famous incident dates back to 1725 in France when a Parisian innkeeper was woken by the smell of smoke and discovered his wife, Nicole Millet, burned to ashes while lying on a straw pallet that itself was untouched by the flames. All that was left of Madam Millet, allegedly a chronic alcoholic, was her skull, some back bones, and lower legs. Oddly enough, wooden items found around her were undamaged. Millet’s husband was initially found guilty murder but, on appeal, the judges agreed with his defense of “spontaneous human combustion,” declaring it to be the consequence of “a visitation of God.”

While it may seem that cases of spontaneous human combustion are nothing more than old wives’ tales or stories confined to books of antiquity, there are several accounts of this horrific phenomenon even in modern times. 

The most recent account took place in Ireland in 2010 when the burned body of 76-year-old Michael Faherty was found lying with his head near the fireplace of his apartment in a room that had virtually no fire damage. No traces or burn marks were found on the floor, on the ceiling directly above him, or anywhere else in the room. An Irish coroner later ruled the unexplained death to have fit into the category of spontaneous human combustion. 

Theories About Spontaneous Human Combustion

To combust, a human body requires two indispensable things: intensely high heat and a flammable substance. Normally, our bodies have neither of these, but over the past few centuries, experts speculate on possible explanations for this rare occurrence — some with an external flame source and some without.

Here are some crazy theories about spontaneous combustion:

1. Too Much Alcohol

Since alcohol, a flammable liquid, consuming too much of it might make your body flammable as well and catch fire more easily. 

2. Too Much Fat

Fat is a flammable solid and having so much may increase the possibility of catching on fire.

3. Gut Gas

Digestion produces flammable gases that enzymes may chemically ignite.

4. High Voltage Static Electricity

Accumulating high voltage of static electricity combined with external geomagnetic forces may spark flammable substances in the body. 

5. Divine Retribution!

Receiving punishment from divine beings or being attacked by demons. 

On another note, Larry Arnold – a self-proclaimed expert on spontaneous human combustion – has suggested that the phenomenon is the work of a “new” subatomic particle called a “pyroton,” which he claims to have the ability to interact with cells to create a mini-explosion. 

While many of these theories have attempted to explain spontaneous human combustion, none of these proposals have succeeded in scientifically proving their claims.

Scientific Explanation for Spontaneous Human Combustion

At present, the theory that is most approved by experts in science in explaining spontaneous human combustion is referred to as the “wick effect.” The wick effect likens the body of a burned victim to a candle. A candle is made up of a wick on the inside while it is surrounded on the outside by a wax coating made of flammable fatty acids. According to this hypothesis, a small external source – like a burning cigarette, for example – ignites the wick or the victim’s clothing or hair, with the person’s body fat acting as the flammable substance that keeps the wick burning for as long as there is fuel or fat available. 

Supporters of this hypothesis claim that the wick effect is consistent with the evidence recovered from cases of human combustion. The human body allegedly has enough stored energy in fat and other chemicals inside to fully combust the body itself. Hence, the effect of slow combustion lasting for hours in an enclosed area is sufficient in explaining why the victims’ bodies are destroyed during such incidents while their surroundings are barely burned. 

As for why limbs like the feet or hands remain intact while the entire torso is charred almost into nothing, the answer may have something to do with temperature gradient – the idea that the top of a seated person is hotter than the bottom. This is similar to what happens when you hold a lit match from the bottom: the flame usually goes out on its own because the bottom is much cooler than the top. As for the greasy stains left on the walls and the ceilings? Those could be from the fatty tissue. 

Many people agree there's so much about our human body that makes us unique among other beings on earth that we still don’t fully understand, and one of them is spontaneous human combustion. This rare phenomenon seems to strike without warning leaving almost no clues. Even now, no scientist or investigator has determined the critical set of circumstances that could sufficiently and scientifically make body cells burst into flames without external influence. And that is why spontaneous human combustion remains a baffling mystery and a permanent resident in the annals of the unexplained mysteries. 

Sources:


http://www.ancient-origins.net/unexplained-phenomena/spontaneous-human-combustion-burning-mystery-003665?nopaging=1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_human_combustion
http://www.messagetoeagle.com/unexplained-phenomenon-spontaneous-human-combustion-possible-new-clues/
http://www.crystalinks.com/shc.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/unexplained-phenomena/shc1.htm
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/is-spontaneous-human-combustion-real
http://www.encyclopedia.com/philosophy-and-religion/other-religious-beliefs-and-general-terms/miscellaneous-religion-26
http://www.livescience.com/42080-spontaneous-human-combustion.html
http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Ghosts-and-Phantoms/Spontaneous-Human-Combustion-SHC.htm

7 Government Officials Who Confirmed That Aliens Exist

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The question of whether or not there are indeed extraterrestrial life forms has been a hotly-debated issue for a very long time. One side maintains a skeptical standpoint on the subject matter, refusing to believe in alien existence unless government authorities provide definitive proof or positive confirmation. Another side insists that not only do extraterrestrials exist; they have also visited our planet and are perhaps even walking among us today. 

And to these believers, the only reason that this reality has yet to become public knowledge is that government institutions are deliberately hiding this fact by withholding photographic and documentary evidence and by downgrading the credibility of those who have stepped forward and exposed the truth. The conviction of these believers in the existence of extraterrestrial life is further strengthened by the fact that several government officials have stepped forward and admitted to this closely-guarded secret. 

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John Podesta – Former Counselor to President Obama

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John Podesta, Former Counselor to President Barack Obama. Podesta is currently the chair and counselor of the Washington D.C.-based think tank Center for American Progress, but in the past, he previously served in the U.S. government as an advisor to President Barack Obama and as a chief of staff of President Bill Clinton. He is also known as a “longtime advocate for government disclosure of UFO files,” having provided his support in some petitions to publicly release documents proving that many UFOs are sightings of actual alien spacecraft. He has even expressed in the past that one of his failings while working for the Obama administration is his neglect in successfully releasing UFO files. He also made Hilary Clinton promise that she would “get to the bottom” of the UFO issue if she became the president.


Edgar Mitchell – Astronaut for NASA

Edgar Mitchell, NASA Astronaut. Edgar Mitchell was an aeronautical engineer and a U.S. Navy officer who also served as an astronaut for NASA during the 1971 Apollo 14 moon mission, which makes him the sixth person to have walked on the moon. Mitchell is also a believer in the existence of extraterrestrial beings and went so far as to say that there is currently plenty of hard evidence that we are not alone in the universe and that military authority have taken lengths to make sure that they are not revealed to the public. However, to this day, NASA has denied involvements in such cover-ups about alien life on the planet or anywhere else in the galaxy. 

Paul Hellyer– Canadian Minister of Defense

Paul Hellyer, Former Minister of National Defence of Canada. Paul is a Canadian engineer and politician who is the longest serving member of the Privy Council of Canada and formerly served as the country’s minister of National Defence. Aside from his extensive political career, he is also a firm believer that UFOs are proof that aliens have been visiting our planet frequently, claiming that he had personally seen a UFO at least once in his life. He also urged world governments to unveil hidden alien technology which could be helpful in solving the global problem of climate change. 

Ellen Stofan – NASA Chief Scientist

Ellen Stofan, Former NASA Chief Scientist. Ellen Stofan previously served as the chief scientist of NASA but resigned from her position back in December 2016. In 2015, Stofan predicted that humankind would be discovering definitive proof of alien life “within 20 to 30 years.” She also said:

“We know where to look. We know how to look. In most cases, we have the technology, and we’re on a path to implementing it.”

While her statements may be indirect, to some people, it seemed like she knew more about the existence and actual whereabouts of these alien life forms. 

Phil Schneider– Geologist and Engineer for the U.S. Naval Intelligence

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Phil Schneider, Geologist, and Engineer for the U.S. Naval Intelligence. Phil Schneider was a geologist and engineer who supposedly served for the United States Government and allegedly helped in the construction of Deep Underground Military Bases in different parts of the country. He emerged in the 1990s with his story that he survived a battle against alien beings back in 1979, and criticized the government for keeping the American citizens in the dark about the truth. Unfortunately, Schneider supposedly committed suicide in 1996, but the mysterious circumstances of his demise led some people to believe that he was eliminated by the government to maintain the secrecy of alien existence. 

Philip Corso– Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army

Philip Corso, Former Lieutenant Colonel of the U.S. Army. Philip Corso served as an officer in the United States Army between the 1940s and the 1960s. In 1997, he published a book titled “The Day After Roswell,” in which he detailed his involvement in researching about extraterrestrial technology following the alleged recovery of bodies and wreckage from the famous Roswell UFO incident which took place in 1947. Corso also claimed in his book that the U.S. government had reverse engineered the alien technology they found at the site, which resulted in the technological advances that humanity has achieved in recent years. 

Marina Popovich – Retired Soviet Air Force Colonel

Marina Popovich, Retired Colonel of the Soviet Air Force. Marina Popovich is a retired colonel in the Soviet Air Force, and a multiple world record-holder in aviation, making her one of the most renowned Russian pilots in modern history. The esteemed pilot has largely spoken about her experience with UFOs in public lectures as well as in interviews. She also published a book about it back in 2003 titled “UFO Glasnost.” She claimed that there are around 3000 confirmed UFO sightings across the globe and that the KGB and the Soviet Air Force are in possession of UFO fragments from a handful of crash sites across the Soviet territory.

Gordon Cooper – Astronaut for NASA in Project Mercury

Gordon Cooper, Nasa Astronaut for Project Mercury. Gordon Cooper was an American aerospace engineer who is known to be a member of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, which was the United States’ first initiative for manned space travel. Cooper was also the first American to sleep in space, having spent 34-hours all alone in space during his orbital mission. In his illustrious career as a pilot, he claimed to have personally experienced a UFO sighting, and he purportedly wrote to the United Nations back in 1978 about his position on this mystery, saying: 

"I do believe UFOs exist and that the truly unexplained ones are from some other technically advanced civilization... I believe that these extraterrestrial vehicles and their crews are visiting this planet from other planets, which are obviously a little more advanced than we are here on earth...”

The claims of many of these individuals, all of whom had served in government institutions at some point in their lives, have been ignored by the public mainly because the governing bodies they were once a part of had either denied their allegations or had refused to comment on them. But does that mean there isn’t, at the very least, a grain of truth in what these former government officials have said about the existence of extraterrestrial life forms? Is it so hard to believe that there are creatures out there – possibly far more advanced than we are – who have taken a glimpse or two at our planet and our way of life? And, should aliens do exist, is it so unlikely for the world government to keep this truth from us if most of us are potentially unprepared for such a reality?

Perhaps, the day will soon come when our government authorities will deem us ready to see and hear the truth, and will finally put an end to the mystery of whether extraterrestrial beings do exist and are possibly already among us. 

Sources:

https://youtu.be/giQ9BF3pVa0
http://listverse.com/2016/08/21/10-government-officials-who-admitted-the-existence-of-aliens/
https://www.trend-chaser.com/politics/weve-got-em-these-government-officials-admitted-aliens-exist/?view-all
http://www.snopes.com/john-podesta-discussed-alien-technology-with-former-nasa-astronaut/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/04/08/the-long-strange-history-of-john-podestas-space-alien-obsession/?utm_term=.99caf11348ed
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/20/ufo.conference/index.html?eref=rss_
https://www.space.com/29041-alien-life-evidence-by-2025-nasa.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/607504-alien-human-battle-of-1979-in-new-mexico-alleged-eye-witness-report/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_J._Corso
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marina_Popovich#Popovich_and_UFOs
http://www.ufoevidence.org/news/article162.htm

Kusanagi: The Sacred Sword of Myth, Magic, and History

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The sword of Kusanagi, the storied sword that completes the Imperial Regalia of Japan, is the stuff of ancient history and timeless legends abound by gods, monsters, and the few mortals who dared wield its piercing magic. But is the sword of Kusanagi, its very existence, part of real-life history? Or is this most storied blade fashioned only from tall tales forged brilliantly into an enduring legend? For us to arrive at answers, we must first take our journey back to a much, much earlier point in time. 

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The Imperial Regalia: The Three Great Treasures of Japan

The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, or grass-cutting sword, makes one of the three Imperial Regalia, The Great Treasures of Japan. Along with the Kusanagi sword, the other Regalia objects consist of The Regalia Mirror Yata-no-Kagami and the Regalia Jewel Yasakani-no-Magatama. The Imperial Regalia is said to embody the three primary virtues central to the ancient and now modern Japanese society.  While the Yasakani Jewel embodies benevolence, and the Yata Mirror represents wisdom, the Kusanagi Sword is the very embodiment of valor. 

Ever since the 7th century, the presentation of The Regalia Objects to the Emperor by a priest has been an essential element to the enthronement ceremony. The enthronement ceremony is a highly private tradition in which only the emperor and selected priests have the privilege of actually laying their eyes on the sacred treasures. Two of the three treasures, the Yasakani Jewel and the Kusanagi Sword, were last seen in 1989 during the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Akihito. 

Before it was known as the Kusanagi, the sacred sword carried a different name—Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, which translates to Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven. The legendary sword’s origin is one that extends to an equally legendary battle that went down between the Storm God Susanoo and the eight-headed serpent Yamata-no-Orochi. 

Once in time, according to ancient Japanese lore, there existed a fearsome eight-headed serpent named Yamata-no-Orochi.  For the longest time, the monster-serpent wreaked havoc to the province of Izumo, while it terrorized the province’s ruling Ashinazuchi family. The ruling family had nine daughters, and the serpent having devoured eight of them, was coming for the last Ashinazuchi daughter. Not wanting to lose another daughter, the head of the family sought the help of the then exiled Storm God Susanoo.  

Upon hearing the story, the Storm God Susanoo wasted no time and tracked down and attacked the eight-headed beast. His valiant efforts, however, were in vain. Orochi proved to be a formidable beast, and the Storm God was ultimately forced to retreat. Although defeated at the moment, Susanoo wasted no time as he started to devise his next plan of attack against the serpent Orochi. 

Susanoo’s plan was as cunning as it was simple. The Storm God planned on getting each of Orochi’s eight heads drunk. And so, the Storm God Susanoo went on with the preparations. He had arranged eight giant bowls of sake, Japanese rice wine, to lure out the eight-headed serpent. Orochi took the bait and fell for the trap. 

Intoxicated and asleep, the beast was defenseless when Susanoo attacked, ferociously decapitating each of Orochi’s eight heads. To make certain that Orochi was unable to regenerate and return, Susanoo with his sword chopped off the serpent’s tails. Olden stories have it that it is in one of the Orochi’s tails that Susanoo recovered a second sword, the legendary sword which at the moment he named Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi, or Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven. 

Yamato Takeru: The First Kusanagi Swordsman

The Sun God Susanoo did not keep custody of the Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi for very long. Although a god, Susanoo was banished from heaven because of a long-standing quarrel with his sister Ameterasu, Goddess of the Sun. Wanting to make peace with Ameterasu, Susanoo gifted the Sword of Gathering Clouds to her as a peace offering thus ending his long exile. 

Entire generations have come and gone. And many generations soon after, the Sword of Gathering Clouds changed hands once more when the Sun Goddess Ameterasu presented the sword to the great warrior Yamato Takeru, the son of Emperor Keiko—the 12th Emperor of Japan. It was in the hands of Takeru that the sword claimed its present name. It was also in the hands of the great warrior that the Kusanagi extended its existence deep into the imperial line of Japan. 

According to the legend, Takeru first discovered of the sword’s magic during a hunting expedition when a rival warlord lured him onto an open grassland. The warlord had his men shoot flaming arrows, thus setting the grass ablaze, and trapping Takeru in the fiery landscape. 

Moments away from burning to his death, Yamato Takeru drew the Sword of Gathering Clouds. With a series of wild swings, he used it to cut down the grass and clear a path that he can use to escape. Olden stories tell that it was during Takeru’s desperate attempt to escape the fiery grassland that he first discovered the Kusanagi’s magical ability to control the wind. Taking advantage of its new found magic, Takeru used the Sword of Gathering Clouds to gain control of the wind and sweep the great big fire across the landscape to the direction of the rival warlord and his men. 

Celebrating his victory over the treacherous warlord and commemorating his narrow escape from death, Takeru changed the name of the sword from Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven to Grass Cutting Sword—The Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. At that moment Yamato Takeru became the first man to wield the legendary Kusanagi sword. And since then, the Kusanagi bestowed upon its wielder the supreme power to be most powerful ruler in all of Japan. It is for this very reason that the Kusanagi sword, along with other Regalia Objects, are presented in the enthronement ceremony when a new Japanese Emperor assumes power.  

Historical Accounts of the Kusanagi

The earliest mention of the Kusanagi sword appeared in the ancient Japanese text, Kojiki. However, since Kojiki is a collection of Japanese myths, the text in it describing the existence of the Kusanagi is regarded less as a historical account and more as a work of early Japanese fiction. 

The first reliable historical mention of the sword is found in the Nihonshoki. Although parts of this book consist of mythological stories, the Nihonshoki prominently contains sections that recorded real-life historical events that were contemporary to its writing. In the Nihonshoki, it was the written that the Kusanagi was removed from the Imperial Palace in Nara in 668 AD after the sword was suspected to cause Emperor Tenmu’s ill health. Having been removed from the Imperial Palace, the Kusanagi was the sent to the Atsuta Shrine to be safeguarded by Shinto priests. 

Originally built 1900 years ago, the Atsuta Shrine is among the most prominent places of worship from the time of ancient Japan. As the Atsuta Shine underwent major repairs during the Edo period, the Great Grand Shinto priest Matsuoka Masanao claimed that he was able to witness the legendary blade in the flesh. Upon describing the sword, Matsuoka detailed what became the most popular account of the Kusanagi: 

 “A stone box was in the wooden box of length 150 cm, a red earth had been stuffed into a gap, a cored camphor tree log like a box shape was seen in the stone box, and gold was laid out, the sword was placed on it. A red earth was also stuffed between the stone box and the camphor tree box. The sword was about 84 cm long, shaped like calamus, the middle of the sword had a thickness, and from the grip, about 18cm is like a fish spine, fashioned in a white metallic color, and well maintained.” 

Almost immediately after witnessing the Kusanagi, the Great Grand Priest Matsuoka was banished from the Shrine, while several Shinto priests died strange deaths. 

The Tale of the Heike

After the sword’s possession by Yamato Takeru, there are few other stories that make prominent mention of past whereabouts of the Kusanagi. In The Tale of the Heike, a 14th-century collection of Japanese epic oral poetry, the Kusanagi sword is said to have been lost at sea following the defeat of the Kusanagi owners Heike clan and the child emperor Antoku in the Naval Battle of Dan-no-Ura. 

In the story, the Emperor's grandmother upon gathering the news of their clan’s defeat led the Emperor and his men to commit suicide by jumping into the waters. It was said that the emperor’s grandmother took with her two of the Three Sacred Treasures—the Regalia Jewel Yasakani-no-Magatama, and the Regalia Sword Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. The Regalia Mirror, meanwhile, stayed with a lady servant. 

Stories tell that while the Regalia Jewel was salvaged in its casket floating at sea, the Kusanagi Sword was lost forever to the great waters.  The historical reliability of this account, however, is regarded as questionable as the Tale of Heike was written 200 years well after the actual Battle of Dan-no-Ura took place. In those 200 years, more than a few replicas of the Three Sacred Treasures were made and lost when rival members of the royal family soldiered their way into power. It is widely thought that the Imperial Regalia lost in the Battle of Dan-no-Ura were mere replicas, as the original Regalia Objects remained tucked away in the Atsuta Shrine. 

The Kusanagi Today

Today, it is believed that the Kusanagi sword remains safeguarded, as it was in the ancient times, well within the walls of the Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya. The sword’s last known appearance in modern history was when it was presented to Emperor Akihito, along with the Regalia Jewel, in his enthronement ceremony in 1989. And even then both imperial objects remained practically unseen as both were shrouded in packages.  

Whether or not the Kusanagi, and the rest of the Imperial Regalia, still exist in their original incarnations can only be the subject of wild and probably endless speculations. Perhaps the only thing that holds some semblance of certainty is that these ancient, sacred relics—part-myth and part-history in their very existence—have shaped Japan in the most real way imaginable. 
 

Blood Splatter Discovered On Shroud Of Turin, Could Belong To Jesus Christ

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Along with the Holy Grail and the Spear of Destiny, the Shroud of Turin is one of the most sacred religious relics on the planet. The piece of linen, measuring 53 square feet and containing the faint image of a man, is believed by millions of Christians from around the world to be the cloth Jesus himself was buried in after death.

Ever since a photo negative of the linen captured by Italian amateur photographer Secondo Pia revealed an image of a body over 100 years ago, scores of researchers have analyzed the image as well as the blood stains and fabric to try and confirm or dismiss the linen’s authenticity. But after years and years of studies, tests, and debates, they came to the conclusion that it is still hard to tell. No one knows for sure. Some say the blood on the cloth belongs to Jesus while some claim that the face of Jesus was painted on by counterfeiters in medieval times. 

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The biggest focal point for skeptics is a carbon-14 dating conducted in 1988 where a small piece of fabric from the corner of the shroud was sent to labs at the University of Oxford, the University of Arizona, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. All three places confirmed that the material dated back to 1260 and 1390, which is more than a thousand years after Jesus was alive. That seemed like a huge piece of evidence to dismiss the authenticity of the shroud, but soon researchers found that the carbon dating that came from the top edge of the shroud produced a much different date than a piece taken from the bottom edge of the cloth. 

But here’s the thing: even if the image was from medieval times and not from the time of Jesus, there is still the mystery of how the image of the man was created in the first place. Every scientific attempt at replicating the image has failed so far. This has caused the shroud of Turin to become not only one of the most sacred relics but also one of the most mysterious.

Recently, researchers in Italy analyzing the shroud of Turin have discovered the blood of a torture victim on the cloth, thus supporting claims it may have been used to bury Jesus. The new findings, titled New Biological Evidence from Atomic Resolution Studies on the Turin Shroud, was published in a US scientific journal that was carried out by The Instituto Officina dei Materiali in Trieste and the Institute of Crystallography in Bari.

The study says that the cloth contains 'nanoparticles' usually not found in the blood of someone healthy. According to Elvio Carlino, a researcher at the Institute of Crystallography in Bari, Italy the cloth reveals the 'great suffering' of a victim 'wrapped up in the funeral cloth.'

According to professor Giulio Fanti of the University of Padua, the blood contained high levels of creatinine and ferritin, substances found in patients who have suffered from devastating traumas like torture. According to him, 'the presence of these biological nanoparticles found during our experiments point to a violent death for the man wrapped in the Turin Shroud.'

The Shroud of Turin has been an intensely debated topic in the world of science ever since. If these findings are true, then they will completely shatter the skeptic theory that image on the cloth was forged by counterfeits.

Elvio also said that 'these findings could only be revealed by the methods recently developed in the field of electron microscopy' and  'the nanoscale properties of a pristine fiber taken from the Turin Shroud.'

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Even though this study sheds a bit of light on this ancient mystery, there are still numerous questions that we have yet to answer. Was this shroud the same exact cloth Jesus Christ was buried inside when he died? How was the image of the man created on the cloth created?

Italian physicist Paolo Di Lazzaro told National Geographic: “It is unlikely science will provide a full solution to the many riddles posed by the shroud...A leap of faith over questions without clear answers is necessary—either the ‘faith’ of skeptics, or the faith of believers.”

If you want to see the shroud for yourself, it is currently on display at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin. At the moment, we can only wait for more evidence regarding the Turin's Shroud before we fully reveal it's mysterious origins. 

Sources:

  • https://www.rt.com/viral/396609-turin-shroud-blood-torture/ 
  • https://www.livescience.com/52567-shroud-of-turin-dna.html 
  • http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/150417-shroud-turin-relics-jesus-catholic-church-religion-science/ 

The Butterfly Effect

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It has been said that “little things are merely the causes of great things” and that the smallest actions can result in tremendous consequences. Therefore, some people argue that there are no such things as “little” or “insignificant” in the world that we live in because even the tiniest change or alteration in our current circumstance has a resounding impact in our future. 

It’s a fascinating philosophical perspective, but did you know that there is an existing mathematical concept that somehow operates partly under the same basic principles? What I am referring to is the mathematical phenomenon in chaos theory referred to as “sensitive dependence on initial conditions.” While the official term may be a little too wordy, you may be familiar with this concept with its more popular and catchier term – “the butterfly effect.”

If you “google” search this mathematical term, you’ll find plenty of materials online that are related to films, books, music, and articles about philosophy and religion, all of which somehow allude to an oversimplified version of what the “butterfly effect” is. And if you’ve watched, the 2004 movie “The Butterfly Effect,” which starred Ashton Kutcher, you probably got to see a crude illustration of how the smallest changes in a person’s life can result in large consequences in the grand scheme of things over time. 

Of course, the brilliant and scientific minds in the field of mathematics and physics will probably tell you that there is so much more to this mathematical idea than that, but it has been a challenge to adequately transmit what it means to the nonscientific population of our modern society. And so, for this video, let’s try to bridge – even just by a small fraction – the gap between mathematicians and the general population in their understanding of what the butterfly effect is. 

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Chaos Theory: A Brief Background

Now, before we delve deep into the definition of the butterfly effect, let us briefly talk about what chaos theory is in the field of mathematics. Chaos theory is a branch of study in mathematics that is directed at analyzing the behavior of dynamical systems which are substantially sensitive to initial conditions. Essentially, it deals with things which are nonlinear and unpredictable, and therefore difficult to anticipate and control. It is concerned with deterministic systems whose behavior, in theory, can initially be predicted but seems to become random over time. 

American mathematician and meteorologist Edward Norton Lorenz, who went down in history as one of the pioneers of chaos theory, described chaos as “when the present determines the future, but the approximate present does not approximately determine the future.” 

Chaotic behavior is a relevant consideration in the study of different natural systems, including weather and climate. The theory is also applied in various disciplines including, but not limited to, environmental science, biology, computer science, engineering and economics.

Lorenz's Concept Of the Butterfly Effect

The humble beginnings of the butterfly effect as one of the mathematical concepts of chaos theory can be traced back more than 50 years ago when Edward Lorenz was a professor of meteorology at MIT and was crunching numbers through a computer program that allowed the simulation of weather patterns. On this history-making day, Lorenz was redoing the simulation he ran earlier that day, only this time, one variable was rounded off to the thousandth decimal place. He discovered that this minute alteration significantly changed the predictive pattern that his computer program had produced, resulting in an entirely different weather scenario. 

It is this surprising simulated outcome that led Lorenz to reach a stunning revelation regarding how nature operates – that tiny changes can lead to big consequences. And so, in 1963, Lorenz published his findings in his paper titled “Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow,” which challenged Isaac Newton’s classical idea of a “clockwork universe.” Newton suggested the predictability of every aspect of the universe as it is a perfect system controlled by the laws of physics. For Lorenz, there is unpredictability even in a deterministic sequence. His work soon gained ground in the 1970s and the 1980s and became a founding principle of chaos theory. 

The mathematical concept of the butterfly effect is encapsulated in this proverbial question: “Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?” This was the title of a talk in 1972 conducted by Lorenz during which he explained that a butterfly flapping its wings could result in tiny alterations in the earth’s atmosphere and will consequently prevent, delay or accelerate the formation of a hurricane or tornado in a distant place. 

This does not mean that the butterfly itself possesses the power to create a tornado and direct where it goes. Instead, the theory implies that the flapping of the butterfly’s wings is one of the initial conditions of the Earth’s weather system. This means that in one set of conditions, the flapping wings in Brazil could over time led to the occurrence of a tornado in Texas. And so, had the creature not flapped its wings, the tornado would never have formed. However, it is important to note that it is just as likely that a set of initial conditions which do not feature the butterfly flapping its wings could be the one that gives rise to a tornado. 

Here lies the problem posed by the butterfly effect concerning mathematical prediction. In the real world, initial conditions for a particular system can never be identified with 100% accuracy. For example, all the variables that influence weather conditions, like temperature and wind speed, cannot be known completely. Instead of an exact prediction, we are forced to provide an ensemble of forecasts which have been mathematically calculated under known but also imperfect initial conditions.
    
Hence, Lorenz’s butterfly effect boils down to unpredictability. In a non-linear system, it is impossible to make predictions about the future unless we possess perfect knowledge of the initial conditions. And should we try to, even the slightest change or error in the established initial conditions could lead to an entirely different destiny.

 

The Problem With Pop Culture's Take On The Butterfly Effect

This is probably why popular culture is fond of the idea of the butterfly effect. Many of us believe that everything happens for a reason, and we hope that we can identify those reasons, no matter how minute they may be. And this where pop culture’s take on the butterfly effect gets it wrong. Nowadays, the original meaning of the butterfly effect has been lost along the way since it became a favored subject matter of mass culture. Instead of stressing the unpredictability of nonlinear dynamic systems, a large number of people from the non-scientific population gained a misguided understanding of the mathematical concept with their supposition and expectation that the smallest reasons or a chain of seemingly insignificant events can potentially alter history and form new destinies. 

A popular example often raised to explain the butterfly effect is the speculation over the spark that ignited the First World War. Some people say that it all boils down to a driver making a wrong turn while driving the car of the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand. This mistake led to the assassination of the Archduke and his wife, which was followed by Austria-Hungary’s declaration of war against Serbia. What came after that was the Germans declaring war on Russia, then France, Belgium, and the UK went to war to fight Germany. By pop culture’s understanding of the butterfly effect, World War 1 never would have happened the Archduke not been assassinated, and he would not have died if his driver did not make a wrong turn. 

Some of us would like to think that a trivial course of action was the one that triggered a series of events that resulted in a catastrophic consequence which resulted in the death and suffering of many people. However, what Lorenz’s mathematical theory is telling us is that it would have been impossible for us to accurately predict with absolute certainty whether World War 1 was going to happen when it did. The archduke’s driver making a wrong turn may have led to the start of the First World War, but then again, it would not have made a difference anyway. If the driver didn’t make that mistake, perhaps the war would have just been delayed, or maybe we would have been doomed to experience an even more terrible global armed conflict than the one that took place in real history. We would have just made several forecasts of what could have happened, but we would have never gotten every little thing right.

Before he died, Lorenz himself revealed that he was unsure of the proper answer to his question of whether a butterfly’s flapping wings can indeed cause a tornado. To him, the value of the question he raised decades ago lies in the bigger point it evokes – that nature’s web of cause and effect are often just too convoluted to unravel as it is highly sensitive to tiny changes. 

And while we cannot accurately predict future events, Lorenz’s butterfly effect concept has inspired significant advancements in various scientific fields as scientists are now less inclined to underestimate the intrinsic complexity of the world’s multitude of systems, from the atmosphere to the stock market. For the last few decades, modern science has evolved from the classical emphasis on stability, permanence, and predictability to the new-age recognition that our everyday lives are filled with instability, sensitivity, and unpredictability. And so, the butterfly effect is more than just a metaphor or a mathematical concept; it is now a symbol of modern science’s new and improved state of mind.  

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Sources:

http://fractalfoundation.org/resources/what-is-chaos-theory/
http://www.crystalinks.com/chaos.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butterfly_effect_in_popular_culture
http://www.stsci.edu/~lbradley/seminar/butterfly.html
http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Butterfly_effect
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/422809/when-the-butterfly-effect-took-flight/
http://perso.ens-lyon.fr/ghys/articles/butterflyeffect.pdf

Perfectly Preserved Body Found of 1,000-year-old Buddhist Master Ci Xian

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Something mysterious has been discovered at the Dinghui Temple in Wu'an in the Hubei province of China. A golden mummy, the preserved remains of Master Ci Xian that is over 1,000 years old, underwent a CT scan on July 8, 2017, that was witnessed by monks, media and prayers . To everyone's surprise, researchers found that he still had a complete brain and that his bones were also really healthy.

According to Dr. Wu Yongqing who conducted the scan:

"We can see his bones are as healthy as a normal person's...The upper jaw, the upper teeth, the ribs, the spine and all the joints are all complete...It's incredible to see this."

According to historical records, Master Ci Xian was a well-respected monk from India who had translated 10 major sutras into Chinese and traveled from India to the Kingdom of Khitan (which is in modern day northeastern China) in an effort to promote Buddhism. Some of his translations were carved into stone tablets that can still be seen today. After his death, Master Ci Xian’s disciples preserved his body well. But over the years, the body was somehow lost, never to be found until it was rediscovered in a cave in the 1970s. 

Master Ci Xian’s remains were worshiped at the Dinghui Temple since 2011, and in 2016 the temple covered his body in gold paint as a sign of respect. According to Master Du at the Ding Hui temple, elderly monks can feel when they are about to pass away and will instruct their disciples to either cremate or preserve their remains. If preserved, his remains would be placed in a massive ceramic jar filled with natural preservatives. If the spiritual level of the monk is high enough, or there is a lot of cultivated energy within the monk’s body, then it would be soaked in the liquid for about 3 years. After that, the body will be removed from the liquid and covered in rice paste.

This may seem really strange to a lot of people but it is believed that all monks are cultivators with the goal of reaching enlightenment. And as they are cultivating, they are generating energy within their bodies. As the energy grows, it will start to change the cultivator’s body from a fundamental level. Often times, when a monk cultivates to a high level, pearl-like substances are left behind his ashes when he is cremated. The pearls are called sarira and are considered sacred and precious. Throughout human history and its billions of cremations, it was only high level cultivators who were able to leave sariras behind.




 

5 Real Life Stories of Teleportation

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Teleportation – the ability to travel vast distances within the blink of an eye – has captured mankind’s imagination for centuries. The concept of “teleporting” from one place to another is familiar to anyone who reads or watches science fiction, such as in the “Star Trek” fictional universe, where both people and objects can instantaneously be “beamed” up to a starship or “beamed” down on an uncharted planet.  The very idea of teleportation has an irresistible allure, and humanity’s interest on the subject matter has gone beyond the boundaries of fiction and is being seriously pursued by science in recent years as a serious topic of exploration and study.

Making teleportation a possibility in the real world is an amazing feat that can only be achieved through means beyond our current understanding. However, there are many bizarre cases and mind-bending stories that suggest that not only is human teleportation possible, it has, in fact, already occurred and has been occurring for many years. Stories of people mysteriously teleporting to distant places go very far back into history and continue even in modern times. The nature of these alleged teleportation cases involves interdimensional portals, enigmatic doorways that provide access to the fabric of reality itself, the bending of the rules of physics as we currently understand them, or through some unexplainable force that is beyond our comprehension.

There are many reported cases of alleged real-life teleportation that took place in different points of human history, but for now, here are five of them.
 

ARTICLE CONTINUES AFTER VIDEO

5. Gil Perez, the Teleportation Man

The story of Gil Perez dates back to the 16th century when he was serving as a Spanish soldier and palace guard of the Governor’s Palace in Manila. He was just a regular soldier until the morning of October 24, 1593, when something strange happened. Tired due to lack of sleep and the warm weather, Perez decided to take a short nap and leaned against the palace wall. When he opened his eyes, he was stunned to find himself in an unknown location. When it was explained to him that he was in Mexico City, he refused to believe that it was true, knowing it was impossible for him to be in Mexico City on the evening of October 24th when he had received his orders in Manila on the morning of October 23rd.

Perez was questioned extensively by the Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition, and he told authorities that he had traveled from Manila to Mexico “in less time than it takes a cock to crow.” He revealed that he knew he was no longer in Manila and that the night before, he also knew for a fact that governor general of the Philippines had been assassinated. However, the members of the Spanish Inquisition did not believe his story and had him imprisoned for desertion. For two months, Perez was locked up in a jail in Mexico City until a Manila merchant ship arrived from the Philippines. The crew shared the news about the Governor’s assassination, just as Perez had described it a couple of months earlier. Even stranger, one of the passengers on the ship recognized Perez and swore that he had seen the soldier in the Philippines marching at the palace garrison on October 23rd. And so, the Holy Tribunal of the Inquisition in Mexico had no other choice but to accept Perez’s story, release him from jail, and send him back to the Philippines.

 

4. The Bi-Location of the Mary Jesus of Agreda

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The Venerable Mary Jesus of Agreda was a Franciscan abbess and spiritual writer, who was known especially for her extensive correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain and reports of her bi-location between Spain and its colonies in New Spain, which is now known as New Mexico and Texas. Although she was never known to have left her Spanish convent, it has been officially determined that, between 1620 and 1631, she made over five hundred trips to convert the Jumano Indians of New Mexico as members of the Roman Catholic Church.

Initially, the Catholic Church treated Mary Jesus of Agreda as delusional and heavily discredited claims of her teleportation. However, the missionaries in the New World and the Indians themselves supported these fantastical claims. For example, in 1622, a New World missionary named Father Alonzo de Benavides wrote a letter to Pope Urban VIII and Philip IV of Spain that someone was already actively converting the Jumano Indians long before he had arrived in the area. When the Indians were asked where they have learned about Christianity, they claimed that it was shown to them by a European “lady in blue,” and that this mysterious woman had provided them with crucifixes and a chalice that seemed to have come from the convent of Mary Jesus at Agreda.

 

3. The Teleportation Power of Carlos Mirabelli

Carlos Mirabelli was a Brazilian physical medium and spiritualist from Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was quite well-known for his ability to perform various seemingly supernatural feats, such as levitation and telekinesis, but the most impressive ability he possessed was arguably his spontaneous teleportation.

In 1926, Mirabelli was about to board a train traveling from Sao Paulo to the port of Santos with some friends when one of his companions saw Mirabelli walk towards the platform and vanish into thin air. In the middle of the day and in front of dozens of witnesses, he faded in a foggy haze as if he were slowly getting erased from existence.

Mirabelli’s friends were surprised at his sudden spontaneous vanishing, but things got even stranger when a station master approached them 15 minutes later telling them that they had a call from Mirabelli himself. When his friends spoke to him on the phone, he claimed that he was suddenly in the town of Sao Vincente, which was 56 miles away from the train’s destination. He also claimed that he practically instantaneously transported there, having realized after his supposed materialization that only 2 minutes had passed from when he disappeared at the train station in Sao Paulo.

 

2. The Sudden Disappearance of the Vidals

A well-known and controversial case of human teleportation supposedly took place in 1968, when a Dr. Geraldo Vidal and his wife, Raffo de Vidal, allegedly teleported a large distance along with their entire car.

In May 1968, the couple was reportedly driving their vehicle along a remote, rural road in Chascomus, a province of Buenos Aires in Argentina, when they were suddenly enveloped by a thick fog. The Vidals allegedly failed to make it to their destination on time, and family members and authorities went on to search for the couple in the road they had taken but no trace of them was found. 48 hours later, Geraldo Vidal called the family to inform them that he and his wife were safe but for some reason unknown to them, they were in Mexico City, which was 6,400 km away from where they were driving in Argentina.

Geraldo Vidal would later claim that they had no recollection of what occurred in the last 48 hours that they had disappeared without a trace. All they knew was that they encountered a strange, heavy fog before everything turned black. When they came to, they found themselves parked along an unfamiliar road and felt pain in their necks. When they alighted from the car, the vehicle looked like it had been burned, as if it was badly damaged by a blowtorch. This story is not only a case of real-life teleportation but is also one of the most talked about cases within the realm of UFOlogy and Forteana.

 

1. The Doorways or Vortices Discovered by Al Kiessig

Some cases of teleportation involve passing through doors or portals that transport people through space and possibly even time, and one such case is the claims made by Al Kiessig about his alleged discovery of doorways to distant places.

In 1971, Al Kiessig claimed that he had uncovered several doorways or vortices in the states of Missouri and Arkansas, which supposedly allowed for instantaneous teleportation from one place to another by traveling through other dimensions. According to Kiessig, each door is different. One could walk through these doorways and instantaneously find themselves several miles away from where they had entered. There are also vortices that take people back to the past or into the future. There are even doorways that supposedly lead to distant stars.

What do we make of these alleged cases of real-life teleportation? Can these stories be easily dismissed as mere hallucinations or flights of fancy, or is there something bigger at work in these cases that are currently beyond our limited reason and understanding? But if there is a chance that we can slip through the crack of reality and shift through space to instantaneously travel from one place to another, how can it be done?

These questions will perhaps forever remain unanswered, and the reality of real-life teleportation of a human being may continue to remain on the outer fringes of the scientific horizon. Nevertheless, these stories and accounts still leave us much to speculate about and think on. And the answer to unlocking the secrets of teleportation may someday be revealed to us, given that modern science is currently in pursuit of understanding the real concepts and theories that might make teleportation a reality.