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Changes To The Challenge

Are there any real-deal possible candidates? I think many people have "border line" paranormal powers. By this I mean that at times they will briefly experience events or do things that just don't seem normally possible, thus it might be considered "paranormal". I've had a number of experiences where I really desperately needed a certain thing to happen; something that was not likely to happen. So I "psyched" myself into absolutely knowing that it would happen. And it did happen. Is this "paranormal"? I don't really know! I do know that I have no desire to "demonstrate" this ability that I've had since about age 7. To me that would be like a laboratory animal under a microscope. I have no desire for such an experience.
I think that the "I don't want to be studied" excuse is one of the reasons for the change in the challenge. They are trying to direct it to people who flaunt their "powers" so obviously are not averse to being viewed using them. It is for people like Sylvia Browne who can only claim "I don't want to be studied -- for free."

I could elaborate on this if any are interested.
Of course we are interested. We live for this sort of thing. Expect, though, to have your details questioned, conclusions challenged and alternate explanations offered. There are a few folks here who won't be kind, but most people here respond in kind to a person who is honestly wanting to discuss such things.
 
Let’s start at the beginning...

My first experience was in 1st grade. We sat at tables, with four students at each table. When it was time to leave for lunch, recess or the end of the day, we all had to sit quietly at our table with our hands folded and the teacher would randomly choose tables one by one to be dismissed. I had a friend at another table. Many times his table got dismissed sooner than most others including mine. This happened often enough that I noticed it. He bragged that he had “The Power.” I had no idea what he meant so I watched everything he did. I took note that he would sit with his foot titled on edge rather than flat on the floor. I thought, “This must be how he does it.” You must realize I was only 6 or 7 years old. I didn’t know that people can’t have “Super Powers.” After all, my hero was Superman.

So I started sitting with my foot tilted to one side and concentrating on using “my power.” Golly, pretty soon the teacher started choosing my table before my friends table. This was noticeable to both me and my friend, so much so that he accused me of stealing his powers. I was a shy kid and had never told him beforehand that I was trying to use any special power. I had been told about Angels watching over me and I thought maybe the angels were helping me.

Was I influencing the outcome of the teacher’s choice? Maybe she picked tables with the most attentive students? I'll never really know. But this was only the beginning...

Jim_Mich
 
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From time to time as I was growing up I tried to influence events. I found that if I could make myself really believe that some event was going to happen then usually events would evolve the way I wanted. Years later I found that religion had nothing to do with it. What was most important was a very strong belief that the event would happen. The belief needs to be so strong that you almost absolutely know it will happen, even though the odds are totally against you.

One time when I was 19 years old I drove across the state to go home with some classmates. We went horseback riding, out across a big hay field just shortly before sunset. I soon realized that I lost my wallet and didn’t have money for gas to get back to school. This was long before credit cards. I knew that I absolutely needed to find my wallet. It was like looking for a needle in a hay field. We all looked for the wallet until dark. The next morning I went back to the hay field which was about 20 acres. I stood at the gate and told myself I would walk straight out into the field and pick up my wallet. I walked out a few paces and doubt filled my mind. I immediately turned and walked back to the gate thinking, “No, I must think positive. I must believe.” It took until about the fifth try before I could make myself believe. Until then I never got beyond about a 100 feet. On that last try I just knew I could do it and I walked out across field straight to my wallet and picked it up. What were the odds of doing that? That is the type of thing I learned I could do. The really hard part each time is making myself really believe I can do it.

Jim_Mich
 
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Jim_Mich - Have you ever willed yourself to do something that violates the laws of physics?
 
Hmm... I made myeslf believe that mosquitos and deer flies would stop biting me. They seldom bite me now. Other people can be standing next to me swatting them right and left, while only once in a while one will bite me. To do it I decided that it was their instinct to bite and I should not hate them for it. I made a mental pact with all blood sucking insects; if they don't bite me I won't swat and kill them. Just peacefull co-existance!

Jim_Mich
 
There have been a few times in my life where an individual caused me much grief and I wished them harm in return. I did nothing except know that I felt they deserved retribution. One man developed cancer and was dead in a few months. Similar events happened to the other individuals. To this day I try to NEVER wish anyone harm.

Jim_Mich
 
Hmm... I made myeslf believe that mosquitos and deer flies would stop biting me. They seldom bite me now. Other people can be standing next to me swatting them right and left, while only once in a while one will bite me. To do it I decided that it was their instinct to bite and I should not hate them for it. I made a mental pact with all blood sucking insects; if they don't bite me I won't swat and kill them. Just peacefull co-existance!
In any group of people you will notice that some are bitten much more often than others and some seem not to get bitten at all. Some reasons why this can happen:

http://www.drgreene.org/body.cfm?xyzpdqabc=0&id=21&action=detail&ref=36

They are also attracted by some body odors, and for this reason they choose some individuals over others in a crowd.

Some studies suggest that taking thiamine (vitamin B1) 25mg to 50 mg three times per day is effective in reducing mosquito bites. This safe vitamin apparently produces a skin odor that is not detectable by humans, but is disagreeable to pregnant mosquitoes
If you already have high levels of thiamine, you may already be protected.

Garlic may work in the same way
The point is you are not alone and there are probably reasons why this is so. Perhaps you could conduct the experiment in reverse. Change nothing else, but WILL those buggers to start biting you.
 
There have been a few times in my life where an individual caused me much grief and I wished them harm in return. I did nothing except know that I felt they deserved retribution. One man developed cancer and was dead in a few months. Similar events happened to the other individuals. To this day I try to NEVER wish anyone harm.
It may have been coincidence. How much of a coincidence depends on the circumstances. Of course, it would be difficult for you to recall enough detail for us to make a reasonable assessment of this. Maybe you could try it on a truely evil person - Sylvia Browne perhaps :D
 
The JREF has no interest in discovering, nor intention to investigate "real-deal" paranormal abilities.

Thats exactly what I recon Gr8

Recon? You did a reconnaissance of something? Or did you mean reckon?

We don't need to go into this, Buzz. We have already determined that your alleged abilities are no more than hallucination. That discussion is long over.

Also, the preview button is your friend.
 
BillyJoe,
Yes, I'm aware of the studies that show different reasons for mosquitoes not biting. The deer flies stopped biting at the same time. Do the same reasons apply to deer flies?

One time I got very sick with a 106 degree temperature for almost two weeks. My liver enzymes went crazy. You get very sick when your liver quits working properly. The doctors thought I might die. They said it was some rare unknown virus. But through it all I knew beyond any doubt that I would be OK. My fever broke and I went home from the hospital two days later.

One time back when the speed limit was 55 mph I was on the expressway doing about 70 mph when I passed a state trooper hiding under an overpass. I was just passing some semi-trucks so I pulled in front of them and slowed down during which time the trooper lost sight of me. At this point I made myself think very positive that I would not get a speeding ticket. The trooper comes flying up in the left lane and pulls in between my SUV and another SUV in front of me with a similar color. The SUV in front along with the trooper pull over to the side.

Little things like this happen on a somewhat regular basis. Any one incident is not significant. But when you combine them all together then it becomes more than coincidence. It becomes noticeable if you are paying attention, much like my 7 year old grade school friend noticed.

Anyway, enough of this. How would I possibly prove that I'm affecting the outcome of events? I know when I do it and that on those rare times when I can achieve near absolute belief it always works.

I'm sure there are people more deserving of retribution than Sylvia Browne.

Jim_Mich
 
Anyway, enough of this. How would I possibly prove that I'm affecting the outcome of events? I know when I do it and that on those rare times when I can achieve near absolute belief it always works.

I've done some testing, and I have the same power! I tried flipping a coin to see if I could make it come up heads. I flipped it once, heads! Right on the first try! Then I tried it again...and I got a tails. I must not have had enough confidence that time, so I tried again...heads! This is great! I tried one more time...tails. Hrmn, it's really hard to build up enough confidence, lemme try again...tails...tails...tails...heads! There we go! This is a really nifty power! Maybe I should head to Vegas...

How many tries does it take you to get the near absolute belief you need to use your power? It seems it took about 5 tries in one case. Do you think you could get it to work 1/50 maybe? Even that would be a testable effect with enough trials, and be worth $1 million.
 
I've done some testing, and I have the same power! I tried flipping a coin to see if I could make it come up heads. I flipped it once, heads! Right on the first try! Then I tried it again...and I got a tails. I must not have had enough confidence that time, so I tried again...heads! This is great! I tried one more time...tails. Hrmn, it's really hard to build up enough confidence, lemme try again...tails...tails...tails...heads! There we go! This is a really nifty power! Maybe I should head to Vegas...

How many tries does it take you to get the near absolute belief you need to use your power? It seems it took about 5 tries in one case. Do you think you could get it to work 1/50 maybe? Even that would be a testable effect with enough trials, and be worth $1 million.
He's already said he didn't want to be tested. I think that is his business.
 
Petre said:
How many tries does it take you to get the near absolute belief you need to use your power? It seems it took about 5 tries in one case.
With the first four tries I only walked between about 20 to 100 feet from the gate. The moment I lost confidence I returned to the gate. The fifth try was when I walked about 600 to 800 feet out though the 20 acre field and picked up the wallet. The hay in the field was high enough that you could only see the wallet when you were standing above it looking straight down through the growing alfalfa. I walked straight from the gate to the wallet. I didn't wander around looking here or there for it. I had already spent a couple hours the night before looking all over the field for the wallet believing it was lost and I would probably never find it. This happened 40 years ago when I was 19 years old. I'm much more experienced now.

Jim_Mich
 
Jim, I know it must seem like you are causing those things, but there are probably plenty of reasons for these events to occur. It is not uncommon for us to feel like we have more influence than we actually do. Some people think that what shirt they wear will influence which sport team wins. Also, there is the very common thing that people do when they think they are doing paranormal things, which is called "ignoring the misses". You gave a very clear example of this when you told the story of finding your wallet.

If you had found your wallet on the fourth try, you would have assumed you had "made yourself believe", would you not? Surely you wouldn't have said "Well, I found it by luck, because I wasn't really believing hard enough." And if you had missed it on the fifth try, you would assumed once again that you hadn't "believed hard enough", right?

Why do you think that people always find something in the last place they look? Obviously, because, after they find it, they stop looking. You would have continued to say you hadn't believed hard enough until you found your wallet, then, as soon as you found it, you would have stopped saying that. Maybe it was better than random chance for you to find it on only 5 tries. I didn't see the field and I don't know the circumstances. But remember that subconscious things could also help you. You might have subconsciously realized that you recognized a part of the pasture you had been across before. That would significantly increase your chances. Also, even though your path may be narrow, your field of vision is quite wide. Each trip covered more ground than you thought, and you certainly didn't do it with your eyes closed.

About the bugs, I don't know, could be something chemical, or could simply be your perception. I sometimes go camping with a guy who never uses insect repellant. He says he doesn't like the smell and he doesn't need it because "bugs don't bite him". One time I looked at him and there were mosquitoes biting him. I pointed it out to him and he said, "Oh yeah, they land, but they don't bite." He was simply ignoring them because he had decided that "bugs don't bite him", and he truly believed it.

All I am saying is that there are many explantions for what has happened to you without invoking some "power" over which you have limited control. The only way to tell for sure is to test it. I know you don't want to be tested by others, but you can try testing yourself. For example, keep a logbook of things that you think are going to happen, like which table the teacher is going to dismiss first and your foot position at the time (try it with different positions). Write it down before the teacher comes in so you won't get visual hints. That will give you some idea if you are actually influencing the events, or if you are only remembering the "hits" and ignoring the "misses".

It would be wonderful to have powers to influence things like this. I've wanted them. We all have. Sometimes we can want them so badly we make ourselves believe we do actually have them. There's only one way to find out if it is true that we have those powers, and that is to test. Otherwise, we will never know if we are just fooling ourselves. If you don't really want to know, then don't test. It is your decision. I wish you well whatever you decide.

ETA:
I wrote this before I saw your last post, so maybe the "field of vision" thing was not correct. The "subconscious hints" could still be true though.
 
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Yes, I'm aware of the studies that show different reasons for mosquitoes not biting. The deer flies stopped biting at the same time. Do the same reasons apply to deer flies?

I don't know if it applies to deer flies. I imagine it could but I don't know for sure if it would. A quick google returned nothing much. One link said that deer flies are attracted to movement and colour. So perhaps there's something you're doing that protects you from their bites.

One time I got very sick with a 106 degree temperature for almost two weeks. My liver enzymes went crazy. You get very sick when your liver quits working properly. The doctors thought I might die. They said it was some rare unknown virus. But through it all I knew beyond any doubt that I would be OK. My fever broke and I went home from the hospital two days later.

Perhaps they figured it was a virus but couldn't identify the actual type. Lots of people recover from viral illnesses even when they bring them near to death. Did they think you were almost certain to die (like 99% certain) or did they just say you could possibly die (maybe 1% chance). If it was the latter, it probably was no big deal. If it was the former, you were very lucky.

One time back when the speed limit was 55 mph I was on the expressway doing about 70 mph when I passed a state trooper hiding under an overpass. I was just passing some semi-trucks so I pulled in front of them and slowed down during which time the trooper lost sight of me. At this point I made myself think very positive that I would not get a speeding ticket. The trooper comes flying up in the left lane and pulls in between my SUV and another SUV in front of me with a similar color. The SUV in front along with the trooper pull over to the side.

You mean you use your power to avoid justified punishment? ;)
It really does sound like you were lucky here though - some semi-trailers and a car the same colour as yours.
Where are they when I need them?

Little things like this happen on a somewhat regular basis. Any one incident is not significant. But when you combine them all together then it becomes more than coincidence. It becomes noticeable if you are paying attention, much like my 7 year old grade school friend noticed.

It is more noticeable when you are paying attention. Are you sure, though, that you pay attention when it works and not when it doesn't work? Therefore you remember the hits and forget the misses Is that possible? It seems to me only you will be able to tell. We can offer it only as a suggestion as something that may be happening.

Anyway, enough of this. How would I possibly prove that I'm affecting the outcome of events? I know when I do it and that on those rare times when I can achieve near absolute belief it always works.

I have read Tricky's reply to this. Do you think it is possible? We are not having your experiences so we cannot tell. You cannot prove it to us, so we'll never know. There may be ways of proving it to yourself though.

I'm sure there are people more deserving of retribution than Sylvia Browne.

Well, it was joke. There certainly are worse people than SB. Pick one and try it. Someone everyone would like to see dead. Someone truely deserving of dying of cancer. Maybe John Howard (hey, kidding again!)
 
...
Anyway, enough of this. How would I possibly prove that I'm affecting the outcome of events? I know when I do it and that on those rare times when I can achieve near absolute belief it always works.
...

Jim_Mich, does your question indicate a serious quest to find out about you "affecting the outcome of events", or is it more of a shoulder-shrugging, rhetorical question?

Could you please rephrase the last sentence I quoted, and try not use the word "belief"?
(I speak English only as second language, and I detect some semantical traps in your statement.)
 
JC,

I'm pretty sure it was a rhetorical question.

He doesn't think there is any way he could actually prove to anyone else that he can affect the outcome of events.

But he has proven it to himself through his personal experience. When he can get himself into a state where he is absolutely certain, because of his perfect state of concentration etc, that he can affect events, he is always successful.

BJ
 
BeeJay, instead of JayCee it should read: GeeKay.

Also possible: Tha Gyz, as in, well, you know.
 
Jim_Mich said:
How would I possibly prove that I'm affecting the outcome of events?
This is mostly just a rhetorical question. I don't think there's anyway to prove it without feeling like a research rat.

Jim_Mich said:
I know when I do it and that on those rare times when I can achieve near absolute belief it always works.
... When I can acheive a state of mind where I know that something will happen, feel deep inside that it will happen, have faith that it will happen, have conviction that it will happen, don't doubt that it will happen, then events or circumstances have always evolved as I desire them to do. If I just feel relatively sure that something will happen then it will most like occur, but sometimes it doesn't.

I have absolute conviction that the sun will rise each morning. Of course so does everyone else. When I can make myself have the same feeling concerning something that I want to happen then the result is the same as the sun rising each morning. Of course the event must be logically possible. If the event or desired result is impossible then I cannot have conviction that it will happen. For instance, walking straight out and picking up a wallet in a 20 acre hay field is highly unlikely but it's possible.

Jim_Mich
 

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