The Paranormal Convention - Ain't What It Used to Be

A tip, people. Avoid the paranormal conventions, even the ones held on cruises, at least until the paranormal television hype settles down, and some integrity is restored. That is, if integrity is your aim.

The Trend and the Controversy

As more and more paranormal TV shows crop up on our Bio, Discovery and Travel channels, previously marginalized paranormal seekers are divided; some are flushed from the flattery of suddenly being a targeted market; others fear that commercialization will make a mockery of all things paranormal. At very least, purists argue, the media attention will scare the ghosts away. These people underestimate ghosts' general hunger for big brand sponsorships.

A Note: When I say the paranormal enthusiasts are divided, I’m speaking strictly energetically. Roughly 75 percent of the paranormal seekers who are flattered by the media hype are in active sexual relationships with the angry purists.

While long time paranormal experts are good at discerning the paranormal charlatans from true blues, or garbage events from quality paranormal education seminars, amateur seekers are bound to get suckered out of their good money on the crap saturating the market. When it comes to the doo-dads, gizmos, and other paranormal things people purchase in their local wicca shops, well, that's nothing new. It's the big purchases that worry me.

The biggest potential rip off at present is the paranormal convention; there are almost no good ones left, at least, not accessible to the average amateur. It's a sad thing, and the folks new to the community should know that it wasn’t always this way.

Paranormal Conventions - The Golden Age

Paranormal conventions, events, weekends, and seminars, used to be heaven on earth. The speakers were consistently top notch — no one snagged the keynote spot because of a Paranormal Society credit or appearance on TAPS. You always got a few speakers for the price of one when you consider most had an ascended master up their sleeve whom they’d channel during lectures. The gatherings were intimate, but extremely well run. The Q&A’s were always properly set-up with the second microphone for spontaneous questions arising in the form of Electronic Voice Phenomena, etc. Because of the small number of attendees, you were constantly running into the various Gifted in Residence — mediums, empaths, crystal healers and dealers. You’d shuffle down to the breakfast buffet, only to enjoy a past life reading from the empath behind you on the omelette line, who “can’t keep the images away” before she's had her morning coffee.

“I tell my hubbie, you don’t want to hear about how you burned you at Salem, fine, bring me my coffee in bed — yeah, and, a chocolate croissant wouldn’t hurt neither! — Yeah, yeah, our gifts don’t have to be curses, ladies!”

Best of all, at a quality paranormal event, you could really relax, knowing you were among like-minded souls. The staff didn’t balk when you requested a cot for your sacred oils and crystal friends. You didn’t have to un-tape the Moldavite skull from your third eye every time you wanted to run to the lobby for an apple.

The Change

Paranormal Television leads to Increase in Paranormal Events at Degraded Quality

As the paranormal world gained more media presence, things went downhill. It was harder to maintain the security of the events, and you’d get the jokers trying to come for “fun”, with their Milton Bradley Ouiga boards, and their thumb drives with bogus paranormal software.

With all the sponsorship opportunities, even some of the ascended masters started to go a bit diva, requesting rooms of their own, even though they are completely non physical paranormal entities.

When not accommodated, they'd act out,racking up room charges on their vessel’s bills, ordering embarrassments like The Sixth Sex, The Shining…Member, vaporizing every snack in the mini-bar. Sometimes they bring their pets along for company,paranormal creatures who they'd let run loose to wreak havoc, disrupting the chakra alignments of attendees left and right.

These Days - Attendance to Paranormal Conventions Requires Skill

The fact is this.

At present, all of the decent paranormal conventions are held, almost exclusively, on the Astral Plane.

While that excludes anyone who can’t project at least one of their subtle bodies, or steer it with accuracy through the astral field, it certainly keeps the jokers out.

They haven’t figured out how to charge admission yet, since you can attend astral events without getting out of bed, but I still suggest trying to get in now, because with this exploded market, I’m sure they’ll find a way soon enough, even if it means taking their pound of flesh by sucking Chi out of the auras of the attendees.

The Bottom Line?

If you hear about a paranormal convention, or worse, it’s advertised, it ain’t the real thing. If it's advertised on television, or radio -- anything that requires funding -- you can guarantee it’s a commercialized, ghost tee-shirt selling, Team Ryan* fan-filled jerkel-palooza.

Save your money, and learn how to leave your body.

*I should probably mention that these BS crap-fests are often more fun than the real thing. I personally enjoy tee-shirts with ghosts on ‘em, and would happily attending a lecture given by Ryan from Paranormal Society — that college boy has a lot of courage and a very deep voice.

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