Can Spirits Help You Win at Gambling? A Las Vegas Field Test (Blog)

[foxbivvy]

For what it's worth I felt a sudden need telling me to check your blog, there was a new one up. I did and there it was. I feel this means I may learn something from this!

"As I see it, if you and I agree on absolutely everything, we can’t help each other grow. It’s only by exploring our differences that we can learn from each other." Totally right, to keep things in is not the way!

I like what you are saying about reality. It's a shared world. What links belief violation I feel is that we are all the same observer. Present in this world instance. So as the same observer we do not forget what we have seen (are seeing?) before (now?).

Anyway it's all fun!

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Sam988

It's not that skeptics don't want to accept it or it's "too much for them". It's just that there is not one, single, proof. All it would take for me to believe in another form of reality is actually seing ONE thing that i would not be able to explain. Is it too much to ask from the spirits? If it is, then why is it? Why can Ron's spirit intervene enough in reality to make you have all those amazing wins in blackjack (for no real purpose other than to train his supernatural skills and help toastmasters a bit?) while a similar display of spiritual intervention in reality could completely change the way another person views reality, benefitting this person much more than the one who got a few hundreds of bucks in some blackjack game?

There is no proof because you've decided not to allow any proof to come to you. You've chosen to live in the reality of skepticism where proof of such things is impossible. If you saw such proof, you could no longer be a skeptic, and that would violate your free will to choose skepticism. So you will never see such proof.

You cannot see the color red while peering through a blue lens. You can only see red after you *decide* to put down the blue lens. Until you make that decision of your own free will, your world will always be devoid of red.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. You've chosen to live in the skeptic's world. It's what you've decided to experience. I think what you may not clearly realize though is that skepticism was a choice you made. You weren't always a skeptic, but at some point you decided to experience skepticism. However, you've been looking through this lens for so long that you've largely forgotten that the lens is still there and that you can make a new choice to put it down and consider another perspective.

When we hold a single lens for so long, there's a risk of it being woven into our identity. We become the lens. That's very limiting.

Spirits cannot come to you and make their appearance known. That's like asking the color red to present itself in front of a blue lens. Your lens of skepticism is filtering them out. That's the very nature of the lens. You cannot blame the spirits for being unable to reach you. After all, you're the one who decided to look at reality through the lens of skepticism, one they cannot penetrate. If you decide to close your eyes, you cannot blame the world for being invisible.

While I can also look at reality through the lens of skepticism, that isn't my preferred lens, and I don't weave it into my identity. I can have experiences that (for me) violate the lens of skepticism because I allow and invite them to come to me without blocking them. I'm certainly not alone in this.

The way I got past skepticism wasn't to turn to faith. It was to become an even bigger doubter. I began to question skepticism itself. I started asking myself, "What if there are non-physical entities all around me, and I'm blocking myself from seeing them?" At first I thought that would be very scary because it would tear apart my comfortable view of reality if it were true. But I had to know if it was possible. So I started saying to the universe, "Ok... if there is more to life than just the physical universe, show it to me. I'm open to seeing it now, even if it turns my entire world view upside down."

The universe obliged. All sorts of stuff started coming through, beginning with the most "impossible" synchronicities, stuff that seemed like it would have had to affect the past as well as the present. Within months I was doing lucid dreaming and having astral experiences. To be totally honest, it was not a pleasant time. I was freaked out quite often. My skeptical friends thought I was nuts and kept trying to talk me back down, but it was too late. My intention had opened some kind of door. This was more than 14 years ago.

If you need to see proof *before* you step through the door, you aren't ready to step through the door. The proof only appears when you drop the old lens and willingly decide to experience other perspectives.

Imagine what it would do to you if you did see proof of non-physical entities interacting with physical reality. What if you learned that privacy was only an illusion? Really give that some thought. Is that really a door you want to walk through?

If you really do want to walk through that door, then simply ask. Visualize yourself putting down the lens of skepticism -- you always have the freedom to pick it back up again -- and walking into a new room where all the proof you seek exists. Ask your reality to bring you new experiences that would violate the lens of skepticism. Say aloud, "Show me what I've been filtering out all this time."

I don't recommend you do this, however, unless you're very brave.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by tomn8er

This "spiritual rule" does seem very unfair. Why make us live in ignorance by not revealing the truth? Even if that truth turns out to be that truth itself is entirely up to the individual, they (spirits) could at least convey this message to us!

By choosing the lens of skepticism, you've decided not to connect with non-physical entities. They must respect that. Really it isn't even a choice for them. They cannot get through to you.

The physical equivalent is that you've gone into your house, bolted the door, and hung a Do Not Disturb sign on the door. Then you complain that no one comes to visit. What are they supposed to do? Break down the door and forcibly pull you outside for a surprise party on your lawn?

If you want spirits to visit, you at least need to go outside. This means you have to put down the lens of skepticism, at least temporarily, and openly invite them to visit. If you do that, there's a good chance they'll come to you. But like human visitors, there's no guarantee you'll like who shows up.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by tomn8er

Well if I "created" Galileo, I definitely wasn't consciously aware of it.

I've read your ideas on subjective reality, but in the end I've got to say that even if it is true that everything in my reality is a product of my own consciousness, it would be more accurate to say that the vast majority of it is the product of my unconscious mind. And if I can't consciously change it (ex. like I can't change the law of gravity, for instance), then how is that effectively any different than objective reality?

Slightly off topic now, I know. It just seemed relevant to show where I'm coming from, because to me, that answer Steve was something of a cop out.

Are the characters in your dreams real, or did you create them somehow?

Your conscious mind makes decisions. Your subconscious manages the details.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by jackal

Steve, I think you're contradicting yourself here. You said that one of the themes in your book is about embracing truth. How can you then speak of spirits and every person having his own reality?

I am a little bit disappointed actually...

Jack Alexander

Because that is the truth.

One of the most important truths to accept is that perception is a creative lens.

[Spartan]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

There is no proof because you've decided not to allow any proof to come to you. You've chosen to live in the reality of skepticism where proof of such things is impossible.

You have chosen a reality in which people are incapable of being proved wrong. My reality is different. Your limiting belief about skeptics is merely a subjective lens through which you choose to view the world.

[babssoft]

I find it incredibly odd that the post just before "Lessons From Ron Lewison" was entitled "Playing the Money Game"....

WEIRD!!!!!!

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Imagine what it would do to you if you did see proof of non-physical entities interacting with physical reality. What if you learned that privacy was only an illusion? Really give that some thought. Is that really a door you want to walk through?

Yes, definitely!

I really wouldn't mind it; i just want to know the truth, whatever it is.

I only adopted the skepticist lens because that is the lens that i found to be the nearest to truth, but if it is stopping me to see a clearer and more full reality, then i wouldn't hesitate at all to drop it. Maybe my world would be put upside down, but i would still want it.


But all my past flirtations with the spiritual world and the subjective reality concept and anything supernatural for that matter have not given me any results.

So it's a real stretch to suspend my current "skepticism lens" (which i still call realism) and try new things (that i've already tried before, with no success). But i can and will do it, again, with more conviction and persistence this time. Why, if i find a new reality, it's more than worth it. Let's see the results.


I just need to know one thing. How can i drop, deep down, the "skeptic lens"? How to trust the universe or the spiritual world enough to make them do their work in showing me a wider reality? Just doing what you said and asking the universe to show me what "i've been filtering out" will not be enough i'm afraid, as i've tried similar things in the past but nothing really happened. I either haven't really dropped the "skeptic lens" (which, mind you, is the alternative i hope to be true. i would love to know of the existence of a spiritual world) or there really isn't anything else out there. I do have an open mind, but i still never experience anything supernatural, so if the spiritual world does exist, what am i missing to be able to experience it?

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Spartan

You have chosen a reality in which people are incapable of being proved wrong. My reality is different. Your limiting belief about skeptics is merely a subjective lens through which you choose to view the world.

It is a choice I've made because I prefer to invite a broader variety of experiences into my life than to narrow the range too much. It's harder to process all of it, but the upside is that it stimulates more growth.

When viewing the world through a blue lens, you can't prove that red doesn't exist. You can merely convince yourself that you've never seen any red and probably never will. If, however, you grant yourself permission to use a variety of lenses, you have more options and will find plenty of red when you choose to.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Sam988

I just need to know one thing. How can i drop, deep down, the "skeptic lens"? How to trust the universe or the spiritual world enough to make them do their work in showing me a wider reality? Just doing what you said and asking the universe to show me what "i've been filtering out" will not be enough i'm afraid, as i've tried similar things in the past but nothing really happened. I either haven't really dropped the "skeptic lens" (which, mind you, is the alternative i hope to be true. i would love to know of the existence of a spiritual world) or there really isn't anything else out there. I do have an open mind, but i still never experience anything supernatural, so if the spiritual world does exist, what am i missing to be able to experience it?

An open mind is only the first step. That's like opening the front door to your house. This is better than a closed door, but by itself, it usually isn't enough.

The next step is that you need to bring some energy to your intention. You can't just verbalize your requests. You have to truly desire them. You can do this by spending a little time imagining what life would be like in the new reality. But this is only a start.

The words you used to describe your (lack of) results thus far are aligned fairly well with truth (curiosity is very good), but they're out of alignment with power. You're being too passive, denying your role in the communication process. It's like you're waiting next to the phone and no one is calling. That's because no one knows your number or knows you're listening. You haven't given anyone a reason to call you. If you want your phone to ring now and then, you have to start calling people, giving them your number, and giving them a good reason to call you.

Most spirits don't just talk to you because they can. If you present yourself as a waste of their time, they'll simply ignore you. Human beings are the same way, aren't they? What's in it for them to communicate with you?

Non-physical communication is actually quite similar to communicating with other human beings. Only the medium of communication is different. If you translate your attempts thus far into the physical world equivalent (like opening your front door and wondering why no one drops by to talk to you), you'll begin to see the flaws in your approach.

Use your imagination to visualize non-physical forms of communication that would likely get results if you did something similar in the physical world. For example, imagine yourself going to a busy spiritual nexus, and start shouting that you're lost and need someone to guide you. That may or may not work for you, but it's a start.

You can also target specific beings for non-physical connection, includng other humans. Visualize yourself going to them and having a conversation. Ask for what you want -- guidance, advice, physical world synchronicities, other evidence, etc. Then listen for a response.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by babssoft

I find it incredibly odd that the post just before "Lessons From Ron Lewison" was entitled "Playing the Money Game"....

WEIRD!!!!!!

I noticed that earlier and thought it was strange too. I didn't consciously plan that.

[Liveformx64]

Keep the stories coming Steve.

I find the "other side" to be highly subjective to personal experience, and I enjoy hearing about the "mechanics" of the other side from a more naturally left brained analytical person.

But I guess according to your beliefs, the other side may be exactly what you make it out to be. The question that just came to my mind is, "Do you think someone can damn themselves to the religious hell if they believed enough that it exists"?

[Savage]

Originally Posted by Liveformx64

But I guess according to your beliefs, the other side may be exactly what you make it out to be. The question that just came to my mind is, "Do you think someone can damn themselves to the religious hell if they believed enough that it exists"?

Absolutely. Those who die with tremendous guilt create their own version of hell to torment themselves... just as they do while they're alive.

[Niki]

Hey Steve.

Just wanted to point out that this article did it for me. I now really believe you are nuts.

Just want to say one (or two) other thing, and that is that everything you experience you are creating yourself.

But if you really want to believe in talking to dead people, be my guest. I just recently decided to cut the crap, and stopped believing in all that "spiritual" stuff. But that's my personal choice of course, my truth.

I also wanted to say that I'm looking forward to some new non-spiritual articles in the future. Because I do believe that you, even though I believe you are nuts, write some of the best personal-development articles in the world!

But please, don't stop writing about talking to dead people too, because it is as entertaining to me, as it is educational for others.

Thanks for the freedom of speech here !

[Apollia]

Great blog post. Two thumbs up.

Originally Posted by Sam988

I do have an open mind, but i still never experience anything supernatural, so if the spiritual world does exist, what am i missing to be able to experience it?

I got good results from keeping a dream journal. I didn't start keeping one in the hope of stumbling into any kind of psychic weirdness, I just wanted some insight into my own mind. At that time, I didn't have any belief that there was anything psychic about dreams (though by that time I was more open-minded about things like that than I had been just a few years before that).

But then, to my surprise, it became clear that sometimes my dreams contained elements which coincided in startling ways with things happening in the world, mostly with people I knew and cared about - things which I can't think of any way I could have known about, other than explanations like telepathy, clairvoyance, etc.

I had no clear impression at the time I had those dreams that they had anything psychic about them - it was only sometime later, when I finally heard some news about someone or something that coincided with my dream, that it started to seem like either a) a weird random coincidence or b) maybe something psychic.

After it happened a whole lot of times, I started to think the answer was probably b), because it seemed rather illogical to think such weird odds-defying coincidences could happen so often as a result of random chance alone.

I actually already wrote a bit about the idea of keeping a dream journal a couple of years ago at another group. I guess I might as well link to that: Questions From an Envious Skeptic - alt.astrology.moderated | Google Groups

A different example I didn't share in that thread was the time I dreamed about my grandma falling off a bicycle. After I woke up, I soon heard the news that my grandma had in fact fallen and broken her hip. (She hadn't fallen off a bicycle, though - she tripped over something in the hallway of the house she was staying).

I don't often dream of my grandma, and that might be the only time I ever dreamed of her falling, and that day is probably the only time I know of that she fell or had any kind of major accident like that. Yet another strange coincidence. (Happily, she's fine now, by the way; that was years ago, and she also recovered remarkably well and quickly).

I might easily have never noticed a lot of weird dream coincidences if I hadn't been writing down my dreams, since I tend to forget my dreams unless I write them down. Without a dream journal, it would have been a lot easier for me to dismiss the coincidences (or never notice them in the first place) and keep being skeptical.

My journals are absolutely useless for convincing anyone else, of course, especially since my journals are only in computer files, without even any hard copies. But, if you're simply looking for your own personal evidence of weird phenomena and don't care about proving it to anyone else, keeping a dream journal might help you. I suspect these kinds of dreams can probably happen to anyone, but since most people don't keep dream journals, they rarely notice it when it does happen.

What I haven't had is any kind of convincing experience of communicating with dead people. From a subjective reality perspective, this could be because I just don't want it. The idea of communicating with spirits spooks me because I don't know how I would be able to identify whoever is coming through. I would never be able to trust they're not some kind of evil demon or something.

As for that computer game coincidence I mentioned in that link... I'm still not sure how to explain that. It certainly wasn't something I was consciously trying to will to happen, it just happened and shocked the heck out of me. It's so weird I wouldn't blame anyone for thinking I was lying about it.

I don't think trying to play a computer game with random elements and seeing if any really weird synchronicities randomly pop up is likely to work as well as keeping a dream journal, but, I guess you never know.

I guess another thing I could mention is that astrology can be rather fun. Especially asteroids.

For instance, twice, it has happened that when transiting Apollonia (the asteroid with the name closest to my internet alias) was approaching a conjunction with the transiting asteroids with the names of two of my online friends that I hadn't written to for a while, I ended up getting back in contact with them.

The first time it happened, I hadn't even been aware of those transits, I just wrote to the person out of the blue on a whim. The second time it happened, my other friend simply showed up suddenly on a message board they hadn't posted to in about a year, so I said hello, and we began corresponding again. Just two minor but amusing (at least to me) coincidences that could easily be explained away as random, meaningless occurrences.

Best wishes,
Apollia

[GreenTea]

Steve,

Thanks for all your explanations in this thread--there are some really great points.

Where does the perception that there really is no "other" fit into all of this?

Oh, and I'd like to say the reason I love your blog is because you do not just write about time freaking management! Thank God! You are challenging people's core beliefs (mine included, hehe). Keep the courageous articles coming please!

[foxbivvy]

Plenty here believe Steve is just nuts to be doing this. They wonder how can a guy write such great personal development articles and then go to this. It clashes (just a little) with their belief system.

Question your assumptions.

Why do all the atoms and sub atomic particles move according to the laws of physics? What keeps moving them, operating them to laws? This is completely unknown and overlooked. Why do scientists seem to ignore this? Given the fact that the whole universe is being run like magic for unknown reasons. It shows how little we know. How little they know. The big assumption made by the public is that we know everything because we know some of the rules they run by. But we have no idea why they run.

A world created by consciousness is a different story than one created by particles running under rules. It is more about experiences. Contacting the dead is one more experience. There are not rules of physics and they can be broken. The purpose of all this? I have no idea! But it seems to be simulating growth and learning. This it encourages.

If you are reading this - then perhaps you are starting to wondersubconsciously - maybe Steve has something. You would not have read it otherwise :P

[seeker5]

Oh, and I'd like to say the reason I love your blog is because you do not just write about time freaking management! Thank God! You are challenging people's core beliefs (mine included, hehe). Keep the courageous articles coming please!

I agree!

I love these way-out-there articles. I'd have dismissed this kind of stuff from most internet writers, but you've built so much integrity and trust with me over the past year or two that I can accept what you're talking about whereas from other writers I may not have accepted it.

Good thing though I decided to believe in the spiritual world over a year ago thanks to Erin's site, or I'd have had such a hard time accepting your recent posts.

[ncos]

It's quite amazing how different people can come up with different explanations for the same set of facts. Steve's explanation can not be falsified. It is far from parsimonious. It is definitely not repeatable by third parties. It's not internally logically consistent (some of his explanations directly contradict others).

Of course, we can't prove him wrong. Maybe he's right about all of this. Too, maybe the world was created in seven days by a Flying Spaghetti Monster. Epistemology gives us the tools we need to filter out the most probable theories from the least probable theories.

Steve's explanation does not pass epistemological muster (to clarify: we can't prove him wrong, but it does not pass the tests that are traditionally required to know that something is true).

Steve has officially lost the right to claim that he is a "math and science" thinker.

[ncos]

Not all lenses are valid. Not all truths are valid. It is dangerous to live based on false assumptions and beliefs.

You might be able to see more with a red lens than a blue lens, but that could have serious consequences.

Terrorists killed 3000 people because of false religious beliefs.
The US illegally invaded Iraq and caused a huge mess because people had false beliefs about Iraq.

I locked the keys in my car and lost $75 to a locksmith because I falsely beleived that the keys were in my pocket.

Knowing whether something is true or not is important. Living in a fantasyland where things become true just because you think they're true can have real and serious consequences.

We can never know the absolute truth (maybe there isn't one), but epistemolegy and the scientific method are the best tools that we have to evaluate the truth of theories for practical purposes.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by ncos

Terrorists killed 3000 people because of false religious beliefs.

And people falsely believe the terrorist killed 3000 people solely because of their religious beliefs.

[Matiasfx]

Originally Posted by ncos

Knowing whether something is true or not is important. .

I agree, but the thing its that there is no "one truth", in my opinion there is your truth and my truth and the truth of each person out there.

So for Steve, the spirits are true, for you the fact that they dont exist its the true, and there is no truth better or more true than other one. Depends on what you decide to create in your life and you have the rigth to do so as much as everybody alse.

Just my point of view.

Mat

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I agree!

I love these way-out-there articles. I'd have dismissed this kind of stuff from most internet writers, but you've built so much integrity and trust with me over the past year or two that I can accept what you're talking about whereas from other writers I may not have accepted it.

Exactly. The only reason i got interested in this is that steve is a very smart and rational guy and if he says or believes something, it is worth to at least consider it with an open mind and give it the benefit of the doubt.

Maybe Ron's death did cause some emotional turmoil in him and he got a bit irrational and erratic but i couldn't imagine steve to be in such an imature level to start imagining interactions with a deceased person just because he misses him a lot, although that's what i would consider to be the case with the vast majority of people, if they told the same story that steve did in his last 2 articles.

[Savage]

Originally Posted by ncos

Steve has officially lost the right to claim that he is a "math and science" thinker.

I'm comfortable being a beyond-math-and-science thinker.

I still appreciate math and science and the scope of experiences where they can be applied, but I also appreciate the area beyond their boundaries, particularly the subjective experience of life as a conscious being.

Math and science can answer lots of questions... except for the important ones.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Math and science can answer lots of questions... except for the important ones.

Math has answered the most important question in the world with the answer of 42.

[Rose of Cairo]

Originally Posted by seeker5

Math has answered the most important question in the world with the answer of 42.

Exactly!

[Savage]

Originally Posted by seeker5

Math has answered the most important question in the world with the answer of 42.

Unfortunately on the next attempt, it failed to come up with the question, so the answer was worthless!!!

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Steve Pavlina

Unfortunately on the next attempt, it failed to come up with the question, so the answer was worthless!!!

What!?!?!? Just because it failed once, it doesn't mean it can't try again and succeed!

This time you and Erin could see about communicating with the Aliens and ask them not to stop the process 5 minutes short!

[RRR]

I get a good laugh out of the offended people...ready to denounce you as a loon. These are my favorite types of articles..Steve a rational, intelligent, and highly successful individual talks to a ghost who helps him win at blackjack...True story. How is it people who have read your articles for example Spirituality vs. Intelligence by Steve Pavlina
don't understand you live primarily in a subjective lens and attribute much of your success to this lens? Perhaps they ignore the articles due to belief systems

There are very convincing scientific studies on retro-pk done by Stanford University among many other trials, I suggest googling PEAR and IONS if you want some science behind the action skeptics. Better yet, try out the belief system for yourself, but be sure and upgrade your OS first.


Rene Descartes at the age of twenty-three he had a dream in which the Angel of Truth came to tell him to be confident in his intuition that the universe is fundamentally mathematical in structure, that the laws of mathematics will unlock the mysteries of the natural world. What this signified to Descartes was that God Himself underwrote the truth of the new science.

You don't have to deny intution, talking to spirits, or even the Angel of Truth to be scientifically grounded.

[Niki]

Originally Posted by foxbivvy

Plenty here believe Steve is just nuts to be doing this. They wonder how can a guy write such great personal development articles and then go to this. It clashes (just a little) with their belief system.

Question your assumptions.

Why do all the atoms and sub atomic particles move according to the laws of physics? What keeps moving them, operating them to laws? This is completely unknown and overlooked. Why do scientists seem to ignore this? Given the fact that the whole universe is being run like magic for unknown reasons. It shows how little we know. How little they know. The big assumption made by the public is that we know everything because we know some of the rules they run by. But we have no idea why they run.

A world created by consciousness is a different story than one created by particles running under rules. It is more about experiences. Contacting the dead is one more experience. There are not rules of physics and they can be broken. The purpose of all this? I have no idea! But it seems to be simulating growth and learning. This it encourages.

If you are reading this - then perhaps you are starting to wondersubconsciously - maybe Steve has something. You would not have read it otherwise :P

And what about you, maybe you should "Question your assumptions'. You say yourself there s no proof, yet you assume "A world created by consciousness". Where is the proof for that. I mean ok, I'm not proving to you that science got this, but you are not proving to me that "consciousness" got it neither.

If people really could talk to dead people, and control blackjack games, OK then in the name of science, prove it in a scientific way, and reproduce it, while authorities are watching. I bet you that 50% of the times you try this over a long period of time, the "spirit's" don't feel like helping you out... Just saying