(Crossposted from The Ordinary Mystic)

Remember that scene in the Matrix where Neo sees that little boy (or was it a girl?) bending a spoon just by looking at it? What if something like that were actually possible? What would that tell us about the potential of the human mind? How would that alter your notions of reality?

A couple of years ago, my youngest son (he was 11 years old at the time) had spent the day with a friend of his and his mom, and when they returned the friend's mom had some news. "Chris, guess what your son did?" He then proceeded to show me a few pieces of silverware all bent and distorted. Turns out they had just attended a spoon-bending party.

What's a spoon-bending party?

A guy named Jack Houck, a retired Boeing systems engineer, travels around leading these workshops called Psychokinesis (PK) Parties. His goal is to explore the potential of the human mind and teach people how to perform psychokinesis. So what goes on at these PK parties?

As my son explained it - first he (along with about twenty-five others, mostly adults) picked up a piece of silverware from a pile, and used a string pendulum to determine if the piece was a good candidate. "Will you bend for me?" he asked, and then the "answer" would be indicated by the swing of the pendulum. Yeah, that sounds weird, but I'll explain more about that later.
After collecting a few pieces, the group was ready to begin. While holding a piece of silverware, they would shout at their piece "Bend! Bend! Bend!" Then they were supposed to stop thinking about the silverware while at the same time testing the piece in their hand - because the piece was supposed to turn soft enough to be bent with little effort.

Now my son had been taking a very "yeah, right" approach to this. Neither of my two boys buy into paranormal or spiritual ideas for that matter. But then he started to hear people shouting as, one after another, they bent their spoons and forks. When he noticed his own piece get really warm and soft, he just matter-of-factly started to bend and twist it - until it got hard again.

Below are the pieces that he bent.



And here is a close-up of one of them, showing how the neck is twisted several times.



Is this real?


The examples in the picture represent "kindergarden" level bending, in that the same bends could probably be accomplished using brute force. I have several reasons to suspect that my son did not use brute force to bend these - primarily his own acknowledgement that the silverware did, in fact, get soft. He also went into this with a skeptical attitude. I've tried to unbend the pieces and couldn't, not unless I put all my strength into it. The other reason is that his friend's mom accomplished a feat beyond the kindergarden level. She was able to bend the bowl of a spoon in half. Try doing that with your hands! So there is definitely something going on here beyond our everyday experiences.

Oh, and by the way, in case you're thinking that what I've just described has nothing to do with the spoon bending in the Matrix - at some of these parties the tines of forks have bent by themselves without anyone touching them. But the implications go beyond fascination and amusement. It truly shows the potential of our minds, and I believe it teaches us some valuable concepts that we can apply in a practical sense.

Key Components for Successful Manifesting

I noticed a few factors here that were instrumental in successful spoon bending. These aren't things that come naturally to most of us, so I believe that the party atmosphere helps people to overcome some learned patterns of behavior and beliefs.

First, of course, is creating the intention. The act of forcefully commanding the piece to bend accomplishes this, overcoming any idea that it is pointless to have such a desire. I believe that the pendulum testing also reinforces the thought that the piece of silverware will bend for you.

Another key is the "letting go" phase. Your mind has to actually be off the subject of trying to bend the spoon. This is one reason why people have more success accomplishing this when they are in a group setting. Often the silverware will bend after the person is distracted by what is going on with someone else. Somehow, your conscious mind interferes with the mechanism that accomplishes this. I believe that mechanism to be your subconscious mind. So many spiritual philosophies state that the subconscious mind has the ability to work miracles (from the viewpoint of the conscious mind). Some even claim that it is the subconscious mind that is "God".

The final factor is the level of excitement present in the room. Positive energy. Positive feelings.

Now these concepts can be found within various spiritual teachings, and we can learn from them and apply them in our lives:

1. Make the intention


2. Let go


3. Be positive in our emotions

I believe it's worthwhile to explore the effect that applying these principles has on such areas as physical healing, finances, and other life conditions.

In case you are interested in try to bend silverware yourself, I've provided a summary of the instructions.

Silverware Selection Instructions

As I stated earlier, I believe the value of this phase is that it reinforces in your mind the idea that the silverware will bend. If you are familiar with dowsing techniques, you can use your favorite method. Otherwise, you can create a simple pendulum with some string and a small weight tied to one end, such as a 3/4 inch plactic ball with a hole in it.

While dangling the weight, ask it to show you a 'no', then observe how it swings - either clockwise, counterclockwise, or maybe it rocks back and forth. Do the same while asking it to show you a 'yes'. It should swing differently than it did for the 'no'. You have now calibrated your pendulum.

Now hold the pendulum above a piece of silverware and ask 'will you bend for me?'. Accept the piece if you get a 'yes', otherwise select another piece.

Silverware Bending Instructions

1. Take a piece of silverware and hold it between your thumb and forefinger, rubbing it gently at the neck.


2. Next, concentrate on a point inside your head, as if you are focusing intense energy there.


3. Now move this point of energy down through your neck, your shoulder, down your arm, through your fingers, and then into the silverware.


4. At this point, shout at the silverware "BEND, BEND, BEND!" - basically command the object to bend.


5. Now release the thought, relax, and at the same time monitor the stiffness of the silverware (by constantly testing the bendability with your fingers).

After a period of time that varies with each person, and usually when your mind is most distracted, you'll notice that the silverware becomes extemely soft. This condition lasts for only a short while, so it is during this time that you twist and distort the silverware as much as you can, until it hardens.

If you try it, and it works, let me know!

Visit Jack Houck's website for more information about his PK parties.

(Crossposted from The Ordinary Mystic)


Why would a person who doesn't believe in or worship "idols" enjoy listening to a forty-verse devotional anthem to a monkey god?

That's right, a Hindu monkey God - the divine monkey - also known as Hanuman.

To look at the devotional images of the Hindu religion, most people raised in a western religious environment would think that it is full of nothing but polytheistic idol worship. But that isn't the case. I've made the point in a previous post that the Hindu religion uses stories and characters to explain various aspects of the divine.

The story of Hanuman appears in the epic tale Ramayana â?? where he is given the assignment of locating Rama's wife Sita, who was abducted by Ravana, a demon king. Hanuman is always on Rama's side in constant battle against evil forces. He is looked upon as a symbol of physical strength, perseverance, and devotion, and represents the perfect devotee, the ultimate disciple. His loyalty to Rama was such that he never tired, and from that we can start to appreciate the unlimited potential that we all have.

Sometime in the 16th century, the Hindu poet Tulsi Das composed a 40-stanza poem praising Hanuman. Many Hindu families today recite this poem - the Hanuman Chalisa - as a prayer on a regular basis. And in the west, it is becoming more and more popular among those who enjoy chanting, kirtans, and other expressions of bhakti yoga.

The first time I heard it I didn't know what it was - it was just another enjoyable tract on the CD Nowby Bhagavan Das. Later I caught one of Krishna Das' renditions, and that was when I started paying closer attention to the flow of the words. Krishna Das' chanting style is a little bit more accessible to westerners like myself.

This stands out from the style of repetitive chanting, but because it's spoken in the same spiritual language of Sanskrit, the same principles are involved in its recital. It is said that the devotee who recites the Hanuman Chalisa 108 times will overcome all obstacles. No, I don't believe that there is an actual entity that appears to assist you. Rather, it's the nature of the vibrations that has the effect. After finding a version that resonates with you and then listening to it for awhile, you'll feel something very positive in the words - even if you don't know the translation. And as we honor the loyalty, strength, and purity of Hanuman, we also honor that part of ourselves.

You can find the words to the Hanuman Chalisa here.

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Recommendation: Flow of Grace by Krishna Das. An entire CD devoted to the Hanuman Chalisa.

(Crossposted from The Ordinary Mystic)

Don't you hate it when a speck of dust ruins a photograph?

But what if that blemish on your picture wasn't caused by dust, or pollen, or water? What if your camera captured something that modern science cannot explain?

"Orbs" as they have been named, are probably the most common form of photographed paranormal phenomenon. Many feel that they are actually spirits of the deceased or some manifestation of conscious energy. Skeptics dismiss it as all the result of dust, pollen, water droplets, or some other known occurrence.

So what are they really?

Dust, water droplets, lens flares and other odd reflections can certainly create blemishes on a phtograph.

While there are pictures that seem clearly to be nothing more than the result of particles of dust stirred up, and others that are some sort of lens flare or flash reflection, I have also seen pictures that don't easily fall into any of those categories. Even so, there will always be those who prefer to attribute it to flaws in the photography, while others will see evidence of paranormal phenomenon.

I can't rule out either explanation for what I photographed last weekend.

An Orb's Surprise Appearance

I took the boys up to Big Basin, California for a short hike. The weather was beautiful; the redwood trees were magnificent. Every so often we would investigate some area outside of the main path, and one spot in particular caught our attention. Behind one huge redwood tree was a small clearing that was very isolated from the rest of the area, being surrounded by dense trees and brush.

Well shaded, the side of the tree away from the path had a raised section formed by old roots. It seemed to form the focal point for the clearing.

This is a picture of that part of the tree.

I actually took that picture for reference, to compare it with this previous picture I took of my son standing on the platform.



After snapping the picture, I checked it on the LCD viewer and right away, near my son's left shoulder, I noticed something that looked just like other pictures I had seen of so called "spirit orbs".

Now this was on a beautiful day - no wind, no rain. We weren't kicking around the dirt. Not that that constitutes proof that it wasn't cause by one stray dust particle, but I took several pictures that day and nothing like this appeared in any of them. None except for this one.

The fact that it was at this particular location that the orb appeared gives further cause for wonder. Why do I say that?

Notice the object at the far left of the picture.

When we first saw the back of the tree, we noticed that someone had left a small pedestal with some flowers in it carefully positioned on the natural platform. Here is a close-up of it.



It was actually kinda creepy in a way. There was no writing, or note, or card, and it reminded me of those roadside memorials you sometimes see. It definitely looked like a tribute to something. Was it a memorial? And for what, or whom? Was it an altar? Was it part of some ritual?

Dust, or Paranormal Occurrence?


I'm trying to keep an open mind to the possibility that it is nothing more than light from my flash reflected off of a particle, made possible by the closeness of the flash to the shutter (common with digital cameras).

But is it just a coincidence that of all the pictures I took that day, I happened to take one of a dust particle that looked just like other pictures of purported spirit orbs, and it happened to be in the same location that someone used as some kind of memorial?

Could it really be just that?.

In any case, it was a magical experience, and part of me can't rule out the possibility that this is more than just a camera playing tricks.