Psychics and Missing People

Thanks, guys. All the tough June dates are over now. As always, I keep moving on.

Rjh, why would I use past tense if I do not know if he's alive or dead? Sometimes I slip and use past tense because of the passage of time. I feel that if I referred to him in the past tense always, that would indicate I think he is dead, and in my mind, to do that means I have no hope. It is hope that allows me to carry on.

I also always say that it is not fair to the missing person and other loved ones to give up hope. If he's out there, and I have pronounced him as dead in my mind, it may not give him incentive to come back. Other people who are not capable of doing a long-term search are also depending on me to keep going. If I give up, then they too, might give up in their hearts.

It's all about hope.
 
I want to bumb this one up..

When I first intorduced myself here I explained how I came to find this site because of a friends Blog.
Kelly is that Friend.

I am happy she has brought me here and found such a great support group in her efforts to help protect families of the missing.

She is truly a genuine and kind person and doens't deserve the backlash the kooks and wingnuts that claim to be psychics are giving her.

Someone really should inform the wingnuts that grandier delusions are a sign of mental illness and they have meds for that along with fluffy white padded rooms:)
 
KellyJ said:
MerryJo says she will not be coming back here. It appears she is unwilling to entertain the possibility that she, and the family of Tina and Bethany, is wrong about psychics being capable of solving missing person's cases. She was very gracious in her refusal. I offered her some real help, and I hope she (and the family) will take me up on it, despite our differences in opinion on this matter.

You can see her responses here: http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=39945
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Since most of us use only about 10 percent of our brains, I do, personally believe that some have gifts that others do not....but my opinion means nothing to the mainstream public.
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Hoo boy.
 
Luke T. said:
Hoo boy.
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Is there anything to this 10% of your brain business? That's not the 1st time I've seen that used as reasoning for the existence of psychic abilities.

Sadly, MerryJo has not responded to my offer of real help for Tina and Bethany.

Amraann said:
I want to bump this one up..

When I first intorduced myself here I explained how I came to find this site because of a friends Blog.
Kelly is that Friend.

I am happy she has brought me here and found such a great support group in her efforts to help protect families of the missing.

She is truly a genuine and kind person and doens't deserve the backlash the kooks and wingnuts that claim to be psychics are giving her.

Someone really should inform the wingnuts that grandier delusions are a sign of mental illness and they have meds for that along with fluffy white padded rooms:)
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Welcome, Amraan, and thank you.

You know it's one thing for people to knock me personally because they disagree with me, but it's a whole another ballgame when they make negative and untrue remarks about our organization, which was born of sweat and tears because of my son's disappearance.

It's also quite unneccesary and meaningless to use the "you're consorting with evil atheists" angle therefore anything you say is questionable.

Facts are facts regardless of one's religion or lack thereof.
 
Kelly - I have been reading the Project Jason website for many weeks now.

Many, many is the time when I have started typing stuff in the comments and I end up just deleting it all because words are so inadequate.

Thank you, thank you for the work you have done and the things you have shared.
 
KellyJ said:
Is there anything to this 10% of your brain business? That's not the 1st time I've seen that used as reasoning for the existence of psychic abilities.

Sadly, MerryJo has not responded to my offer of real help for Tina and Bethany.



Welcome, Amraan, and thank you.

You know it's one thing for people to knock me personally because they disagree with me, but it's a whole another ballgame when they make negative and untrue remarks about our organization, which was born of sweat and tears because of my son's disappearance.

It's also quite unneccesary and meaningless to use the "you're consorting with evil atheists" angle therefore anything you say is questionable.

Facts are facts regardless of one's religion or lack thereof.
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As usual, Kelly, well said.

Re: your brain question...short answer....nope.

Longer answer, here's a link to Snopes.com

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percnt.htm

ETA -I especially like the part

"While for the people who repeat that myth, it's probably true, the rest of us happily use all of our brains. "
 
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An excellent article on the 10% thing at http://www.twopercentco.com/rants/archives/2005/03/a_piece_of_our.html

Using common sense — and a little education — you can logically deduce that the idea of humans using only 10% of their brains is ridiculous. Your brain makes up about 2% to 5% of your body mass, yet it consumes 20% of the body's resources, such as oxygen and glucose. If such an organ worked at only 10% capacity, that would be a highly inefficient system. It is unlikely that such an organism would be fit enough to survive natural selection and generate offspring that would evolve to be the dominant species on the planet. Additionally, a sheep's brain is approximately 10% the mass of a human brain; if we only used 10% of our brains, we wouldn't be much smarter than a sheep. Hmm — in this case, perhaps those who make this claim really are only using 10% of their brains.
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KellyJ said:
Is there anything to this 10% of your brain business? That's not the 1st time I've seen that used as reasoning for the existence of psychic abilities.
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I believe the 10% originally derives from the fact that at any given moment, an average of 10% of the neurons in your brain are firing. But it's not the same 10% all the time, and if you constantly monitored brain activity from one day to the next, most, if not all, of the brain will eventually be used.

I would counter this 10% claim by pointing out that any individual with 90% of their brain removed, no matter how selective you were about it, would cease to function.
 
KellyJ said:
Is there anything to this 10% of your brain business?

...snip...
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As others have said - no, I wonder if it is a distortion of something that a scientist may have at one time said e.g. "We only know what we use 10% of the brain for".
 
Stellafane said:
I would counter this 10% claim by pointing out that any individual with 90% of their brain removed, no matter how selective you were about it, would cease to function.
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Everyone posted some excellent info. The Snopes link was great. Stellafane's simple, but direct quote above is a good one for smacking this particular nonsense right square in the eye.

StewartP said:
Kelly - I have been reading the Project Jason website for many weeks now.

Many, many is the time when I have started typing stuff in the comments and I end up just deleting it all because words are so inadequate.

Thank you, thank you for the work you have done and the things you have shared.
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You're most welcome.

Words are kinda funny like that. This entire forum is made up of words. (and a few pics) Some make us laugh, some make us cry, some make us furious, some indifferent, and now and then, some just make us throw our hands up in the air.

The neat part is the people behind the words. It was the people here who encouraged me and supported me along the way as I wrote those words and shared my pain with the world. They helped me come to a better understanding of this issue. They've been patient and understanding as I dealt with other tough times. Their words are written in between the lines. If it weren't for them, you might not have been reading those words. :)
 
Hi everyone, this thread is most compelling. It represents a lot of why I even hang out here--hope vs. nihilism and results vs. conjectures. And it's not really about me when I say that the causes I've supported (youth education, arts education) over the years are no doubt worthy but this one pulls even harder.

Would it be possible for somebody to post about how one can help, in the most direct way? Obviously supporting law enforcement in general is good, volunteering locally, yes. Who is doing the best work for missing/exploited children on a national or international scale, for example? Do they need money? What other needs are there?

This may be available in some of the links posted above which I haven't checked out yet, so bear with me.

I for one will be happy to wake up every day when I know I had done something to help the missing and their families. Like others here reading this probably did, I went and tucked a sleeping kid into bed and wept a little out of sheer gratitude. The foulness and sadness that has visited other families hasn't visited ours. It's hard to find the right words now, but we can weave a stronger net then they can. A net can filter out unwanted things and also catch the good ones before they fall.

Thanks again for a most profound thread.
 
--bump up--

Hi BPScooter,

I for one had the same dilemma. How can I help?

I went to a few homeless shelters with posters of local missing people, and had them put on the bulletin board. I printed out a brochure from ProjectJason.org (which I have somewhere here, and will link it later) and gave it to the shelters coordinators. I scout my local newspapers for any signs of pro-psychic reporting, and would contact the paper/reporter if it doesn't accurately portray the facts, (I haven't found anything yet).

Others here will have more ideas, but it is good to have you aboard.
 
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Scooter: There are many ways you can help. It used to be I could keep track of the stories of the missing and I would reach out personally to the families that were in my area. With the internet we are able to reach many more. Families need support in the beginning as no one is prepared for such a tragedy. This thread in part is dedicated to attempting to warn the families that during their time of grief that psychic's will approach them offering their wares. Which are not gifts. Not only does the family experience a constant barrage of false leads the psychic in reality is taking precious time and energy off of the real investigation. Energy and funds should be put instead into flyers, commercials, billboards, radio ads, or any means one can think of to obtain information about the situation or get the word out. I would rather see resources put into search and rescue groups. Not only are the families experiencing emotional trauma but most cannot continue to work and funds are needed to sustain them. You can, donate funds to search groups. To the families directly, or to those that have not for profit organizations such as the National Center for Missing and exploited children and adults, as well as a host of others who have experienced a loss and have created organizations in their honor. The Carol Sund Org. the Shawn Hornbeck search and rescue team, another is TES Texas Equis Search, are just a few. You can also reach out to the families on a lower level and contact them directly, you can join a search and rescue team, or aide by donating foot search time if you have missing in your area.
www.texasequusearch.org
http://www.missingadults.org
www.shawnhornbeck.com
http://www.carolesundfoundation.com

Thank you for your post, it is those as yourself that make a huge difference.
 
BPScooter said:
Hi everyone, this thread is most compelling. It represents a lot of why I even hang out here--hope vs. nihilism and results vs. conjectures. And it's not really about me when I say that the causes I've supported (youth education, arts education) over the years are no doubt worthy but this one pulls even harder.

Would it be possible for somebody to post about how one can help, in the most direct way? Obviously supporting law enforcement in general is good, volunteering locally, yes. Who is doing the best work for missing/exploited children on a national or international scale, for example? Do they need money? What other needs are there?

This may be available in some of the links posted above which I haven't checked out yet, so bear with me.

I for one will be happy to wake up every day when I know I had done something to help the missing and their families. Like others here reading this probably did, I went and tucked a sleeping kid into bed and wept a little out of sheer gratitude. The foulness and sadness that has visited other families hasn't visited ours. It's hard to find the right words now, but we can weave a stronger net then they can. A net can filter out unwanted things and also catch the good ones before they fall.

Thanks again for a most profound thread.
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Hello BPScooter, and thank you for your willingness to help.

About a month or so ago, I was on a local radio talk show and a few listeners called in. One was kind, but stated what is true: The majority of people do not care about this cause. Unless it has touched you in some way in your own life, most do not care enough to take any action. If we see a missing person story on the news, we might say to ourselves : "Gee, that is so sad", but a minute later, it is gone from our minds and we don't do anything about it. I never paid any attention whatsoever to missing person stories or posters that were hung up, etc, until it happened to me. Now these things are like a flashing neon light. (If we were able to do a scientific survey, I do think we would mind the majority do not care enough to take action.)

Not to sound jaded, but I do know that there are many, many people who do care, even though the issue has not touched them personally. These are the people who have helped us along the way, for which we are most grateful. These are the people who keep us going when we're down. It's not just us, of course, but anyone in this position.

This is a piece I wrote that should answer your question. If it doesn't, please feel free to write me at kelly.jolkowski(at sign)projectjason.org

How Can I Help?

Things you can do without cost:

For those who believe, prayer for both the missing person and for the family is very important. If the missing person is alive, they may be struggling with basic needs and/or the psychological issues in their life. The left behind family members need prayers to help them deal with the numerous issues that come with having a loved one become missing. There is evidence that prayer can make a difference. I can tell you that it does.

For families who have websites with guestbooks, be sure to sign the guestbook, as the family is uplifted by these messages of hope and support. You never can underestimate the effect doing this has. You can also email the link to the website to others, asking them to send it on after signing the guestbook.

Important note:

Please be responsible when forwarding emails about missing persons. Some are hoaxes and some are about missing persons who have already been found. Do not forward one unless you are sure it is a valid, open case. You can read more about how to check for this here:
http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/2005/08/penny-brown-is-still-not-missing.html

You can help us bring awareness for ALL missing persons by emailing all media, local and national, asking for coverage of the missing person’s story.

If a certain missing person’s story makes the national news, and is featured on a regular basis by the local media, contact them and remind them of the missing person(s) in their own area. Often, these missing persons may get little to no coverage. You can also do this if you notice the broadcast of news that should not take precedence over people, such as stories about missing animals.

If you would like an automated email sent to you that contains instructions, links, and a prototype letter to send to media, write to mediacampaign(at sign)projectjason.org

Things you can do for a minimal cost:

Poster placement is proven to be a key method to bring awareness to the case and reunite families. Many printable posters are available online. Both NCMEC (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children) and NCMA (National Center for Missing Adults) have posters on all missing persons. Many other sites have posters as well. Most family websites will have one to print.
http://www.missingkids.com/
http://www.theyaremissed.org/

It is important to keep posters up in the area where the missing person was last seen, but we also must remember that we are a very mobile society, and if the missing person is alive, they can very quickly move to another part of the country. There are very few cases in which it is a certainty that the missing person is in a specific area.

Project Jason has printable posters available at these sites:

http://www.projectjason.org/18wheel.html
http://www.projectjason.org/comehome.html
http://members.cox.net/kelly_projectjason/

A few family sites also have printable labels you can affix to packages you mail. You can also make business size cards to hand out. You can see examples of these here: http://www.findheaven.net/flyers.htmI

If these are not provided for the missing person you wish to assist, you can make them yourself, using the ones on the page above as a template, or by designing your own.

You can also participate in our Adopt a Missing Person program. For the price of a self-addressed stamped mailer, you can choose one or several missing persons to adopt. You will be sent a photo button to wear and a personal bio, so that you can share their story with others. Wear the button on your purse, backpack, or coat, and give these families hope that they will be reunited.

http://www.projectjason.org/adopt.html

If a family of a missing person lives in your area, and they hold a fundraiser for their reward fund, you can attend or volunteer to help with the event.

Things you can do for varied costs:

If the family has a reward or search fund, donate to it. Depending on the situation, they might also establish a trust or other fund to care for children of the missing person.If you are already in touch with the family, or know an organization which can, (Project Jason if it is a case shown on our Faces page) inquire as to their needs. Those needs could vary. They may need a number of posters printed up and sent to them for poster campaigns in their area.

If you have a talent, and want to use that talent to help, contact an organization handling their case. The family may be very happy to have a fundraiser, such as a concert, put on for them. Persons who sell products, such as home interiors, can offer a percentage of their profits during a particular sales period. There are many creative things that can be done to help.

It is not recommended to donate personal goods, just items that pertain to the search.

Please keep in mind that donating money or other items to a missing person’s family is not tax deductible as they are not a nonprofit organization. If the family happens to run a nonprofit organization, donations that are intended for their missing loved one must be given directly to the family, and are not tax deductible. A donation made to the organization cannot be used specifically for their missing family member, but is tax deductible if they have nonprofit status granted by the IRS.

And finally, we ask you to help us help them:

We also need your help financially in order to continue our work. The competition for charitable dollars is fierce and small nonprofits such as Project Jason depend strictly on the generosity of the public. We are an all-volunteer force. There is no paid staff and little overhead. Our phone bill is one of our largest expenses.

I dislike posting this because I never want to give the impression we're all about money, but the realities of it are that we just don't get many donations. We have many, many plans we would like to bring to fruition, but it's going to take money to accomplish those things.So, if you like what we're doing, please help. If you would prefer, please take a look at the good missing person's organizations in your area, and help them. There are many of us who are small and struggling.

Donations can be mailed to:

Project Jason
PO Box 3035
Omaha, NE 68103

Thank you for anything you can do for our cause!

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski
President and Founder,
Project Jason
http://www.projectjason.org
 
Gravy said:
Joe Nickell talks about psychic detectives in a podcast on this site linked in this week's Randi commentary. The Nickell interview is partway down the page. Great site.

http://www.pointofinquiry.org/
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Thanks, Gravy.

In my work on the blog, I did come into contact with Mr. Nickell. He was gracious enough to call me and we had an interesting chat. I am listening to the podcast now.
 
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