It appears parapsychology’s National Holiday is upon us as Halloween or Hallow’s eve looms. It seems the media and everyone else wakes up at this time of year to momentarily take notice of the prevailing questions raised by psychic functioning and the possibility of apparitions and ghosts. The Garrett library usually takes more calls than usual and of course our friends in the media reach out for commentary. While people of all walks of life do sometimes wonder about our subject matter I so wish for sustained interest and better yet financial support for our researchers, academicians and students who are always forced to beat the bushes for funding to enable and push the science of parapsychology forward. I will somewhat refrain from my usual plea for fully tax-deductible donations to Parapsychology Foundation with which we can channel support to many deserving such individuals and perhaps herewith just drop a very large HINT!!!
What I want to share with you this month is that I am starting with my daughter Anna Damalas our own personal project wholly apart from the auspices of Parapsychology Foundation. Over the years (50 of them working on staff at PF in various capacities) I have become increasingly aware of my “supernormal legacy” and now Anna too feels the weight of that same legacy that originated with my maternal grandmother, founder of PF and well respected medium Eileen J. Garrett. Not only have we pondered her legacy both normal and “supernormal” as taken from one of her autobiographies “Adventures in the Supernormal” my late mother and second President of PF, Eileen Coly, also wrestled with the same self-felt responsibility. To this end we have just launched our Supernormal Legacy YouTube channel and Facebook page with plans for an eventual website. We seek to defray any confusion with the work of Parapsychology Foundation which in 2021 will be marking 70 years as a worldwide forum supporting scientific exploration of psychic phenomena. Our “supernormal legacy ” will allow for our nonscientific exploration of the world we were born into apart from our administration of a scientific academically based organization.
I have met fascinating people and experienced strange phenomena myself which I have kept somewhat under my hat working with PF. With maturity and a sense that I was a good soldier working within academia I have given myself license to go off the reservation and try and make personal sense out of what I have experienced and do experience while growing up and navigating within the psychic world that I was born into.
I welcome you to come along on this new journey of ours if you are so inclined. It is next to impossible to completely separate out our life experiences from our connections to PF, but we are eager to try. It goes without saying that our commitment to the science of parapsychology and that of Parapsychology Foundation remains our primary intent and true family legacy. Join us as we seek to make sense of what I believe is often part and parcel of the human condition while trying to derive understanding and value from psychic functioning which will surely provide food for thought, insight and information with the recognition that we may all often experience similar occurrences. At the very least enjoy a short bio of Garrett who having her own adventures in the supernormal led the way for ours.
Happy Halloween and if you get the proverbial “money shot” of a ghost or apparition be sure to share with us!
