Will Paranormal Activity Increase With Solar Activity?

On May 14, 2013, NASA reported a massive X-Class solar flare, as increased solar activity continues to worry NASA mission leaders and telecomm officials around the world. This recent flare, which wasn’t related to a coronal mass ejection or CME, as they often are, occurred at approximately 9:30 p.m. EDT on the 14^th, and was classified as X1.2 flare, and is the 18^th X-class flare of the current solar cycle.[1]

So what does that mean?  Well, basically it means that the sun burped and sent a mass of solar radiation at us.  That radiation affects the Earth’s magnetic field, sometimes disrupting communication with satellites, and can cause malfunctions in key systems, like the Global Positioning System or GPS for instance.

The sun goes through periodic variations or cycles of high and low activity that repeat approximately every 11 years.  We are currently in the grips of a high cycle, which means increased solar activity, such as solar flares and CME’s as well as other phenomena.  When these flares or CME occur, they aren’t always aimed at the Earth, but sometimes they are, and they can wreak havoc when they interact with our magnetosphere.

In late-summer of 1859 a massive solar super-storm, commonly known as the Carrington Event (named after the researcher, Richard C. Carrington, who observed and recorded the event), hit Earth’s magnetosphere, causing the largest known geomagnetic storm in documented history.  These geomagnetic storms produce magnificent auroral displays, but they also act, essentially, as giant, prolonged electromagnetic pulses, which are capable of interrupting or destroying electrical/electronic equipment.

Fortunately for our civilization at the time, electrical appliances weren’t in widespread use, and as a result, only a few telegraph services experienced a temporary disruption.  A similar geomagnetic storm today would decimate our technologically dependent culture, rendering all computers, cell phones (and telephones for that matter) and vehicles useless, at least temporarily if not permanently.

But don’t worry; even though some researchers believe we’re overdue for a massive solar super-storm, NASA is officially not worried.

Though massive electronic failures aren’t the only impact these solar storms can have on us.  In April of 2012, I reported on Dr. Michael Persinger’s God Helmet, wherein I illustrated the effect subtle electromagnetic fields can have on the human brain.

Persinger created his God Helmet (actually called the Koren Helmet) in the early 1980’s in cooperation with his colleague Stanley Koren, after whom the device was named.  The pair created the device to assist in experimental research into several hypotheses about brain function, such as Vectorial Hemisphericity Hypothesis.  Well into their research, the team found that subject’s who wore the helmet tended to have pointed spiritual experiences.

The effects of the God Helmet ranged from feeling like they were in the presence of God, to seeing angels and auras and to feeling a nondescript presence in the room.  Not everyone who wears the helmet has a spiritual experience.  Some, like Dr. Richard Dawkins, who tried on the helmet for an appearance on the BBC special Horizons, described only a feeling of slight dizziness.[2]

In my previous article, I theorized that the effect observed in the case of the God Helmet, may also be experienced in certain locations around the globe where strange and unexplained electromagnetic energies are said to be present.  Locations such as Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, or Machu Picchu in Peru may generate or inherently contain subtle electromagnetic energies that might affect the human brain in the same way as the God Helmet.  If true, this might explain at least some of the many spiritual, religious and even ghostly experiences reported at such locations.

It may even explain ghostly phenomena in other areas.  Some paranormal researchers claim that locations rich in limestone tend to be more haunted than other locations.  Limestone can react with flowing water, within and underneath it, to produce subtle electromagnetic fields.  If the God Helmet effect can be demonstrated to be real, it may provide a breakthrough in paranormal research.

But what if the increased solar activity we’re currently experiencing, activity that is supposed to increase over the coming months, and which is known to cause electromagnetic storms within Earth’s atmosphere, has a similar effect on the human brain?  Will we see an increase in reports of paranormal activity in step with the increase of solar activity, and in turn the increase of electromagnetic energy?

The notion that ghostly experiences are the effect of our brains interpreting or reacting to environmental energies is actually one that’s been around for a while.  Some researchers, myself included, believe that much of the reported haunting activity around the world is a form of psychic projection by the experiencer.  Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that ghostly phenomenon is the projection of electromagnetic patterns acting on the limbic system, causing false perceptions in the external world.  This idea cannot hope to explain the totality of paranormal experience, but it might serve to ground the search for proof of the paranormal into the realm of science.