Interviews

I’m glad to finally publish my interview with Miroslaw Magola, also called the Magnetic Man. Miroslaw possesses a unique ability to “stick” objects to parts of his body. I have already written an article about him in last October, see for an introduction Miroslav Magola the Magnetic Man. Since then I saw more references to him, including references from people skeptical of his ability. I am glad that Miroslaw has accepted my invitation to interview him. Note, that Miroslaw was born in Poland and now lives in Germany. Yet, his English is quite poor and he preferred to be interviewed over the email, since his reading and writing skills are better than his talking skill. Since most of my interviews were conducted over the email, I saw no problem with that.

Obviously, the claims of Miroslaw are quite extraordinary. There are very little people even claiming to have the ability to attach objects to them without adhesives, even rarer is when the objects are not metallic. Miroslaw himself proudly writes that he has been examined by several scientists or researchers in various fields and his website lists them. I have asked Mr. Magola, even before I sent him the question, to provide me with some references to these researchers, if which Miroslaw has sent me four contacts: Prof. Dr. Konstatin Korotkov, Dr. Alexander Imich, M.D. Dobruskin, Jack Houck. I’ve decided to check these four references for information about Magola.

Dr. Konstatin Korotkov seems to be a researcher and an inventor. He is a Professor of Physics at St. Petersburg State Technical University in Russia, published over 70 papers in leading journals on physics and biology, and he holds 12 patents on biophysics inventions (from his website). He seems to be researching what he calls bioelectrography, research of human’s energy field. He developed a technique known as the Gas Discharge Visualization technique (GDV), which should be better than Kirlian photography. I’ve sent an email to the email address at his webpage but unfortunately got no reply to this day.

Miroslaw gave me a phone number in New York for M.D. Dobruskin who seems to be related to Kirlian photography. Yet, on this phone number he was not available anymore and I couldn’t find any additional information on this person on the internet, except for some pictures where he tests Magola, on the following website (at the bottom): http://members.aol.com/mmagola/experiments.html.

Jack Houck is well known for his PK party. He also understands in metals, I think and he worked as an engineer for Boeing for many years. I wrote to Jack twice using the email supplied on his webpage but never got reply, too.

The only person who actually replied was Dr. Alexander Imich. I wrote about Dr. Imich twice here, in the articles An unusual voice mail and Dr. Alexander Imich is in financial need. I also mentioned him as one of the people reseraching Magola in my original article on the Magnetic Man. Dr. Imich is now almost 105 years old but he is still active in the world of parapsychology. So, I talked to him over the phone and he asked me to write him an email which I did. His reply was as follows:

Some years back, during an informal demonstration, I have seen various objects – metallic and non-metal – weighing probably up to 1 kg, sticking to palms and/or to the front of Miroslaw Magola’s head, and lifted by him this way from the floor.

To my knowledge, this is rather a rare human capacity of paranormal nature. Described for the first time in Russia and exhibited by Miroslaw Magola.

Sincerely,

Alexander Imich PhD., President
Anomalous Phenomena Research Center

In another interview of Dr. Imich (July 2005) he is also asked of Magola and answers the following:

Miroslaw Magola is a Polish citizen living in Germany. Together with Dr. Barbara Koopman, we have observed a phenomena first described in Russia. Various metallic and non-metallic implements, some weighing more than a pound, sticking to his skin. Not many people are producing this, ostensibly paranormal phenomenon that, in the very inadequate parapsychological nomenclature, has to be classified as psychokinetic.

So at least there seems to be some credibility to his claims although I don’t know of any real scientific papers that were published about Mr. Magola. Neither does he know.

Miroslaw was also kind enough to send me a lot of high-quality photographs of himself. He mailed me several dozens Megabytes of photographs and other material. He was also kind enough to email me scanned pages of the interview with him in the “mysteries-magazin”. The magazine is in German and I don’t understand German that much. If anyone who understands German is willing to translate parts of all of the interview from the journal I’ll be happy to email him the pages and publish it here (if copyright allows). You’ll see some of the photographs he’s sent me below the interview.

And now to the interview itself. I allowed myself to edit his answers a bit for spelling and punctuation for the best of my ability.

Could you please describe your ability to attach objects to yourself, is it only about metal objects?

My ability is like a „magnetic power“ ( not in the physical sense ). It is holding – but of course – without glue, adhesive-tape or similar things. The ability works to all materials : metal, plastic, wood, ceramic. See link http://www.magola.com/English/welcome.html

When and how have you developed this ability in yourself? How long did it take?

Today is another interview, this time with Laura Bruno. Laura Bruno is a Life Coach, Medical Intuitive, Animal Communicator and Reiki Master Teacher. She has lived and taught across the U.S. and now resides in Sedona, Arizona, where she enjoys the beauty with her husband Stephen, a photographer. Laura offers classes and phone consultations and writes fiction in her spare time. In addition to over twenty articles on natural healing, Laura also authored the soon-to-be-released eBook, If I Only Had a Brain Injury: A TBI Survivor and Life Coach’s Guide to Chronic Fatigue, Concussion, Lyme Disease, Migraine and Other “Medical Mystery. You can visit her website at www.internationalrenaissancecoaching.com.

Could you please tell the story of discovering your intuitive abilities.

I grew up as an empath (meaning I could feel other people’s physical and emotional pain), but I had no context for that “gift.” Everyone called me over-sensitive, and I learned to view intuition as something inconvenient, weird or shameful. Despite efforts to suppress it, people still sensed my ability. While I earned a Masters in English at University of Chicago, strangers often approached me for health or life path advice, which I quietly gave. To my embarrassment, these same strangers later hugged me in front of my friends, thanking me for the insights. Secretly, I felt led to a more spiritual career than academia, but I resisted.

Instead, I chose the corporate world. My first sales job required twenty-five cold calls per day. Twenty-five cold calls supposedly equaled seven call-backs, which translated to three sales appointments, which became one sale, which (funneled throughout the month) equaled or exceeded quota. I hated viewing conversations as statistics—not to mention all the “no soliciting” jabs. But I couldn’t live on my base salary: I needed to hit quota. Desperate, I started praying. Before each cold call I would silently ask, “Let them see your Light in me and, please, give me the right words to say.” Instead of kicking me out, business folks suddenly welcomed me as a long lost friend! Yet after seven cold calls, I still needed a vanilla milkshake and a two-hour nap. I requested extra guidance: “Please, take me to the right places today. Then, let me radiate your Light and use your words.” With my terrible sense of direction, I developed an uncanny knack for getting “lost” exactly where and when someone needed exactly what I had to sell. I continued to make or exceed quota each month, averaging about two cold calls per day.

This effective prayer only intensified that nudge toward spiritual work. One day I “accidentally” cold called a nun and she took my hands: “Child, you have such Sweetness in you! You will go far when you embrace your gifts.” Disturbed, I reapplied to doctoral programs, vowing to teach a Literature and Spirituality class. I found a cushy sales job with established accounts—no more cold calling nuns! Then I prayed, “If academia’s not my path, don’t let me do it. Otherwise, I’m going!” The scholarships and stipends flooded in: “Wow!” I thought, “That was easy! Here I expected some big, dramatic thing. One course on Literature and Spirituality? Guess I’m not so intuitive after all …”

But on May 19, 1998 (three months before I planned to start fully funded doctoral studies in English Literature) an on-the-job car accident destroyed the life I knew. A brain injury shut down my rational side for years. I suffered visual impairments leaving me unable to read longer than five minutes per day. Florescent lights caused migraines, dizziness and disorientation, and my short term memory all but disappeared. Without my rational mind, intuition suddenly unleashed itself. Carefully developed filters no longer worked. I suddenly “knew” someone had a thyroid problem or emotional blocks leading to cancer. Even worse, I’d get the insistent urge to tell them and if I didn’t, my head pounded louder than usual. The more I resisted, the stronger the migraines became until finally I contacted each person and shared my insights. Then the pain subsided. Medical tests and conversations continued to confirm my intuition, but it took a long time for me to feel comfortable sharing information—even under duress.

Summer 1999, I spent eight weeks in Seattle in a final push to attend graduate school. (Yep, I’m stubborn, and Northwestern let me defer enrollment for a year.) One day, my holistic vision and brain injury specialist said, “If grad school doesn’t pan out, come back to Seattle. I’m old and I need to give my practice to someone.” “OK, where did that come from?” I asked. “I’m an English major!” He explained that he and his assistant had noticed “the next three patients after” me “always made amazing progress.” “Great,” I said, “What’s that got to do with me?” He answered, “For weeks we’ve purposely mixed things up and no matter which three patients follow you, they always make amazing progress. You leave an energy residue in the room that lasts at least three hours. Seriously, if grad school doesn’t pan out, come back and work with me.”

Well, graduate school didn’t pan out. My head imploded under florescent lights and if I ever managed to read, I immediately forgot the content. Meanwhile, my intuition and energy continued to grow. In August 2001, I returned to Seattle for more treatment. That specialist eventually hired me as his Medical Intuitive Consultant—my first job after brain injury. With no other career options and a strong sense of Fate, I started to embrace my healing gifts instead of running from them. I opened my own business and made a full recovery. Now, I love my intuition, and I love that it helps so many people heal and find their path!

You are a Reiki Master teacher. What do you find Reiki helpful for?

Reiki translates to “universal life force energy” or “divinely directed healing energy.” As such, people find Reiki helpful for all kinds of things! In the last 10 years, many hospices and hospitals (including the esteemed California Pacific Medical Center, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire, St. Luke’s Hospital in Pennsylvania, and Tucson Medical Center in Arizona) have valued volunteer or paid Reiki practitioners alongside their cancer programs because patients report vastly decreased pain and fear, and increased peace, positive attitude and relaxation.

Personally, I’ve found that Reiki works well for headaches, stomach pain, and insomnia. When I first learned Reiki, I was still recovering from my brain injury. Daily self-treatments and a number of “healing attunements” allowed me to wean myself completely from pharmaceutical migraine pills. I also find Reiki useful for empowering goals, because the energy just flows through situations and events. Hallmarks of Reiki include increased serendipity and a bubbling sense of joy.

Describe some of the more interesting cases from your practice, where Reiki was helpful.

Marcel Cairo

Today I’m proud to present my interview with medium Marcel Cairo. I’ve known Marcel for several months now through his active involvement in the internet community on the topics of mediumship and skepticism. Marcel also hosted an internet radio show called AfterLifeFM.

As a disclaimer I must say that several months ago Marcel performed a short reading for me over the phone. In this reading Marcel had a hard time of establishing a confirmation for the spirit that appeared to him. After we dropped this and focused on the message instead, I found it to be more to the point about what was going on in my life. So, although I wouldn’t consider this reading as overly successful from my point of view, I’ve heard positive testimonials from Alex Tsakiris and Science is a method, not a position blogger, Matthew. Of course, one or even three testimonials can’t substitute for controlled testing, but they do give you a small window into the type of work Marcel does, and so hopefully will this interview..

I hope this interview will give you a better look into Marcel’s character and plans for the future of his shows.

Good day, Marcel. I want to concentrate on three things in this interview, if you don’t mind. One is your own mediumship. Second is your radio/podcasts on the internet (AfterlifeFM) and third the interaction between skeptics and mediums and what can be done about this. Is this OK?

OK.

Please tell what being a medium means to you? What kind of a medium are you?

Good question. Most people assume that you become a medium because you somehow are driven or asked to help others. For me, choosing to be a medium is primarily an attempt for me to understand myself in a deeper and more profound way, and somehow elevate my own personal struggles beyond my own ego… if that makes any sense. To answer the second part, I am an evolving medium. At this point in my life, I would like to be the equivalent of what Richard Wiseman is to social psychology… a spokesperson and a researcher. I am far from this dream, but I am projecting that at least to myself.

So, have you learned this skill or did it just “appear” in your life?

Being a father of two amazing little imaginations, you learn not to make these type of distinctions. Where does creativity really come from? What is the origin of curiosity? I don’t know, but observing my kids, I see how little conscious control we have over becoming ourselves. I can remember as a child just being in touch with this incredible source of creativity and inspiration that was a playground for whatever it was or is that I am to become. More importantly, I was never discouraged or criticized as a child. I just played. To me, this freedom was and is everything.

But being a medium is not just “curiosity”. I am, too, curious about this subject yet this doesn’t make me a medium.

You’re right and you are wrong. There is no way you can become a really good medium without curiosity. Curiosity is a cousin to trust. Curiosity allows you to peek into the dark room knowing that there is a chance you may get swallowed up. Somewhere on the path, I met a traveling angel. I feel that I was hand picked to be mentored. Not because I was gifted in anyway, but because I exhibited a willingness to struggle in my curiosity.

My mother is really the key to everything. If anyone can claim any credit to nurturing this skill in me, she is the one who wins the trophy. She is a doctor and a great mind. Though I often disagree with her conclusions, she embodied what the scientific method and the skeptical mind should be – open observers and willing participants in the quest for truth.

My mom created an environment in my house which many family and neighbors criticized – a circus of geniuses and freaks constantly streaming in and out of my house. Some of those people would sit around the dinner table talking about consciousness, magic numbers, UFO’s, Atlantis, spiritual contact, etc… I wanted to be like these people… aware of mysteries.

My curiosity and desire, magnified by my environment, unleashed a flood of spiritual contact that almost drove me mad as a 9 year old child.

How does mediumship affect your own life? Whether and how do you use these abilities for you own good?

Today I’m glad to present you an interview with Erin Pavlina. Erin has started doing psychic readings professionally around a year ago, after life full psychic experiences from her childhood. Erin also writes a lot about her knowledge and stories on her blog. Enjoy the interview.

Your path to becoming a psychic medium is quite interesting. You’ve had mystic experiences in your childhood and adolescence and then you dropped all this altogether only to return years later. Could you briefly tell how it started in the childhood and what were the reasons for these changes at the different stages of your life?

I started telling people I had ESP and could read their minds when I was just 4 years old after a barstool fell on my head, cracking open my skull in the third eye area. I will probably never know if the accident had anything to do with my abilities, but the two events were very coincident. It started out as knowing about things before they happened. I would tell my parents something was going to happen and either a few hours later or a couple of days later it would. I was a very intuitive child and often knew what people were thinking.

During my teen years things really kicked up a notch. I started studying dreams for a science fair project and from there learned how to have lucid dreams whenever I wanted. Three years later I began astral projecting and became really proficient at that. It was at that time I started encountering negative energies. Although most of my psychic experiences were positive, there were too many negative experiences that started affecting my psychic health. I also started having premonitions of accidents and deaths and frankly, it freaked me out when they came to pass. So as I entered college I decided I didn’t want to be “weird” anymore and tried to turn it all off. I was largely successful except that I began having spirit communication in my dreams. Deceased relatives would come to me in my dreams and tell me things that were going to happen. I could live with that though.

When I was in my mid-twenties I met my future husband, Steve Pavlina. He was interested in some of my experiences and encouraged me to explore them again. With maturity came the ability to handle the experiences. I slowly began opening myself up again. But it wasn’t until January of 2006 at the age of 36 that I discovered I could improve my abilities consciously. I finally stopped running from my abilities and discovered I could extend my abilities to helping others. And a psychic medium was born.

Your husband, Steve Pavlina, has started to write about his psychic development about the same time that you’ve started your blog. Who has influenced whom in your family?

Steve began having a lot of psychic experiences after he met me. I taught him how to have lucid dreams. From there he had some astral experiences though he is not nearly as proficient as I am. He’s very open to trying new things so his abilities progressed somewhat naturally, though I wouldn’t say he is consciously working on them. At the I Can Do It! Seminar in 2006 he experienced giving a total stranger a psychic reading and connected with a woman’s deceased uncle. That surprised him. He dabbles in things here and there but he is not pursuing this path professionally.

Steve influenced me in the courage department. He was very supportive of me starting a blog about paranormal and spiritual topics. He bolstered my confidence in my abilities and helped me decide to start doing readings professionally. So in that way he has been instrumental in my “coming out” as a medium and certainly in my success in this field.

You’ve had much experience with lucid dreaming. Although lucid dreams are not considered to be paranormal do they lie on the path to spiritual growth, in your opinion? Or is it only a skill that one can develop? What is Lucid Dreaming good for?

Alex Tsakiris is a high-tech entrepreneur turned Podcaster based in Del Mar, California. After short stints as a research associate at the University of Arizona, and a member of the Texas Instruments Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Alex founded Mind Path Technologies (now a part of InFocus Corporation). Earlier this year he turned his attention to science Podcasting with the launch of Skeptiko.com and OpenSourceScience.net.

You host the skeptiko podcast about controversial issues of science, such as parapsychology research. I must say it’s one of the best podcasts I’ve heard and certainly a leading one on the subject. Could you elaborate on the idea behind the skeptiko podcast and how you came to opening it?

Well, thanks for those kind words, Jacob. I guess Skeptiko grew out of my love for learning while listening. I’ve been a books-on-tape junkie for years and used to download radio shows before podcasting took off. Knowledge really is power. When I turned my interest to science and parapsychology I often felt like there were questions that just weren’t getting asked and answered. So, I started Skeptiko to get some answers.

What’s your background regarding parapsychology? What caused your interest in this subject?

I’m a complete lay-person when it comes to parapsychology and science in general, but I’ve tried to use that to my advantage. I come at these topics with a fresh perspective… as someone whose fascinated with this stuff, and has dug into research material widely available on the net. The democratization of science is a very cool thing.

What was your position, when it came to psi research on topics, such as telepathy, consciousness survival, psychokinesis, before you started the podcast?

I was skeptical… of both sides. I had read some books and papers on psi and was impressed, but I had also explored the skeptical side of the debate and found their arguments persuasive. I found the whole thing rather frustrating, here were these very smart scientists with completely opposing viewpoints.

Have the interviews changed your position in any way?

DeAna is a well established, UK psychic with clients all over the world. Predominantly, she uses her psychic ability to give people psychic readings over the telephone or via email. DeAna has helped thousands of people over many years. More information on DeAna can be found at her website: http://www.future-forcast.co.uk where you will also find how to contact DeAna if you would like to use her psychic services.

You are a psychic reader, could you explain what is the service that you provide?

That’s a loaded question, lol. It really depends on the person or organisation and their needs. People consult psychics for different reasons. Consulting a psychic does not interfere with your free will; instead it should provide a little ‘helpful inside info’ and help you to change outcomes and steer your life in the direction you want to go, avoiding problems where ever possible. People from all walks of life can and do consult psychics from Priests to MD’s. It is a common misconception that only women use psychics, more and more men are feeling comfortable about consulting psychics too.

I never claim to be a medium (although sometimes messages and information come through, but I cannot and will not try to guarantee to contact a departed relative). Some people call looking for proof of survival, people coming to me looking to contact the departed are told I cannot guarantee or force it. To offer an analogy: you cannot just telephone a friend at anytime, guarantee they will be home and want to talk, so the same same applies to talking to those who have passed over. It’s really up to the person that is past, if they can/will decide to communicate. This cannot be forced.

Some people come for information about what is likely to happen in the near future- or for clarification on something from the past. Many clients tell me they use me as 'a year planner'. They have a reading covering their year ahead and build around what information I give them. Problems with partners, lost people and pets, business choices...the list is endless really- a few come just for fun or because they are so sure skeptical about psychic ability and they like to check you out. I get asked to perform many different services. If I feel in anyway a person would be better off consulting a doctor, counsellor or other professional- I will refer them as appropriate.

I’m glad to announce my fifth interview for Mind-Enegy.net. Today I’m posting the interview of Bonnie Adam. Bonnie is a Tibeten -Usui and Karuna® Reiki Master, and also does psychic readings. She started reading professionally about 8 years ago. She read for friends for a few years before that. She has been doing Reiki for about 7 years and teaching Reiki and workshops for 3 years. She has an office in lovely downtown Guelph, Ontario, Canada. For more information about Bonnie go to http://www.pathwayshealing.com/ or check out her 2 blogs http://psychicsarepeopletoo.blogspot.com/, or http://www.healinghands-bonnie.blogspot.com/. She try to update them frequently, but the kids, the dog, her partner and her business do require quite a bit of attention. Enjoy it.

How have you discovered that you want to be a healer and a psychic? Did you develop your psychic power or was discovered “by accident”?

I have had ‘psychic’ experiences since childhood. I would be aware of spiritual beings, and I would hear things and see things that others did not. It was quite confusing as a child as I would be told by the adults around me that I was imagining things. I eventually seemed to have shut down my abilities, but they returned quite strongly when I was in my late teens. I would be aware of the spirits, and I would know that they were trying to communicate with me. It took a few years of practice and meditation before I was able to interpret the messages they were trying to send.

I learned about Reiki in 1997. My infant daughter needed surgery and she was in quite a lot of pain. I was guided to use my hands to try and sooth her, and her pain seemed to diminish. Very soon after that I was looking through a continuing education brochure and saw a class on Reiki. When I read the description I knew that I had been trying to do Reiki for my daughter, and signed up!

After a long time I’m delighted to present another interview. This time the interview is with Hazel Rogers. Hazel Rogers has recently set up Really Good Ideas to teach people about how easy it is to use EFT. She’s left the field of IT Project Management to lead workshops and teach people one-on-one how to use EFT to solve their emotional and physical problems.

I'm sure you'll find the interview very interesting.

I’m delighted to present another interview. This time the interview is with Jeffrey Mishlove, Ph.D. of parapsychology. For a background read about Jeffrey in the post: Jeffrey (Jeff) Mishlove – profile of a parapsychology researcher. This interview was also conducted by email.

After a computerless weekend I’m here to announce my second interview. This time the interview is with Larry Plato, who is an expert in the Jose Silva Mind Control and Silva Ultramind systems with more than 30 years of experience. Larry is one of the moderators of the Silva Ultramind group on Yahoo! Groups. This interview was also held by email and is unedited.

1. Can you tell when and how you came to know of the Silva Method and why have you studied it?

I’m happy to announce the first interview for the Parapsychology articles and blog website!

This interview is with Cynthia Sue Larson, who runs the Reality Shifter website, author of 4 books on reality shifts, aura and spirituality and is a spiritual life coach. The interview was conducted by email, so it’s not a dialog but more of a Q&A.