Parting the Veil

[paranormalplanets]

Photos of the Venus Transition as observed from cloudy Washington.

- M. Rangel

[paranormalplanets]

Behold the magic of ghillie suits. I imagine that bigfoot does this in his spare time.

- M. Rangel

[paranormalplanets]

Strange metal boxes have been appearing up and down the west coast since from January 5th - February 8th. The phenomenon is still possibly ongoing. The strange occurrence appears to have first been noticed in Oregon after heavy UFO activity. The boxes are reported to have been “humming” or “wailing” like a siren. The boxes investigated this far are unmarked and of an unknown origin. They appear to be solid, and nearly impossible to move.                               (Source: Huliq.com)

- M. Rangel

[paranormalplanets]

For anyone who’s interested in astronomy, the University of Arizona has released the files from their HiRISE project. They have a free program called HiView which allows you analyze their ultra high resolution pictures of Mars. HiView is essentially a google earth for Mars. If you’ve ever wanted...

[partingtheveil-blog]

A user has uploaded a video of a search he ran using "google Mars." It shows what appears to be a warehouse, or a base that resembles modern human architecture. So far the poll for whether or not users think it's proof of an intelligent presence on Mars be it human or not, ancient or current, is split at ~ 51% proof positive to 49% negative. personally i'm of the opinion that it's a graphic processing error, but it's always fun to wonder. 

- M.

[partingtheveil-blog]

Photo by M. Rangel

On space and extraterrestrial visitations:

The greatest source of wonder lies in that which is a mystery to us, that's why I'm fascinated with the paranormal and astronomy. The vastness of the universe is beyond human comprehension, there's just so much space that it's inconceivable. The dimensions and distances used to describe space are so large that it can't be done using normal units of measure, it's impractical. An example would be the distance from the earth to the sun, it's 1 astronomical unit (AU). This unit was devised to measure distances within our own solar system, 1 AU is roughly 93 million miles or 93,000,000 miles. And this GREAT distance itself isn't practical form measuring distances in even our own galaxy. Instead we measure things in light years (the distance an object would move in a year traveling at the speed of light, approximately 10 trillion miles. That's 10,000,000,000,000 miles.) It's hard to look at the sky and not wonder what's out there, to dream of exploring alien worlds and discovering all there is to be discovered. Space has fascinated man kind for thousands of years, if not longer, the mystery of it can drive a person crazy.

For all of our technological advancements in optics, probes, and detectors there's still so much we don't know about this universe we live in. Looking up at the night sky really makes you question what our place is in the universe, and whether or not there's life out there. I choose to believe that there is life on other worlds, because if you don't then this universe becomes a cold and bitter place in which we are alone. The mere thought of being able to find building blocks of life on other planets in our own solar system has driven humans and governments to expend vast resources to see if it's possible, if there's good reason to believe we're not alone. This thought is what I keep in the back of my mind when I think about whether or not there are extraterrestrials visiting humanity. We as a species are in our infancy, and yet we've left this planet and collected data and samples from all over our solar system. We yearn for answers and as such will go to extreme lengths to discover that which is hidden from us. If we're so driven, then I like to believe that other intelligent species are as well.

When it comes to space exploration we send out astronauts, highly intelligent researchers that are in excellent physical health. Our goal with space travel is exploration, not dominance and as such we send researchers rather than soldiers. I believe that other intelligent species would do the same. When we send probes to other planets it is our objective not to contaminate the surrounding areas, and to leave the planet more or less unaltered with the information we're after. In a sense we have a policy of non interference. So when analyzing the possibility of there being extraterrestrials visiting our planet, it would make sense for us to presume that they would follow common practices.

One of the main arguments against the existence of extraterrestrial visitations is that if they were here, then why wouldn't they announce their presence. Why wouldn't they great us and share their technologies. It's my belief that if there are extraterrestrials visiting earth, then they are merely researchers. Their objective in coming to our solar system and planet wasn't to make contact, and to advance our development as a species but rather to look for signs of life. If we were to discover intelligent life on a neighboring planet, I believe the likelihood that we would make contact initially would be slim. Rather we would observe from a distance, gauge where they stood in comparison developmentally and assess how dangerous this alien species was. We would perhaps try and acquire genetic samples from a sample of the population so that we could compare their evolutionary path to our own and see how compatible we are as a species, and whether or not we could survive in similar climates and conditions. After a long period of observation we would return to our home world with a report of our findings. After which point in time a decision would be made whether or not making contact would be beneficial at this point in time, and how we should respond. As with most large diplomatic decisions, I don't believe there is an easy answer. I believe that they would choose a path of observation until a clear decision could be made, and it's for this reason that we should be critical of ourselves.

- M.

[partingtheveil-blog]

On String Theory and "Ghosts":

Light is troubling to scientists because it behaves like a wave and a particle. And with string theory they try to explain it as being the byproduct of a string vibrating on a higher dimension (in string theory all matter is the result of vibrating strings. People refer to space-time as a fabric, I like to think of it as fabric is made up of woven threads). In life as we know it we have 3 dimensions (Up and down, left and right, and forward and backward) and we can only move in these directions. These three dimensions contain our entire reality, and having evolved in a three dimensional world it's all we can perceive. These three dimensions are referred to as physical dimensions, ways in which we can move. And the "4th" dimension scientists added was time, to help explain our world. Time is a "temporal" dimension, it exists outside of the physical.

Now, on to string theory. String theory is an idea being developed to try and relate gravity with the three other fundamental forces in the universe (electromagnetic force, weak nuclear force, and strong nuclear force. The strong nuclear force is the one that results in Hydrogen bonds, the force that holds atoms together. The weak nuclear force is how we can carbon date things, it's a force given off short range by bosons). The problem is gravity holds our entire universe in order, including Earth's orbit around the sun. But even though it does all that it's the weakest of the four fundamental forces, and doesn't tie in with the other forces in current models making for a haphazard universe, and being humans we like order. So string theory proposes there are higher dimensions (a total of 10-11 based on the type of string theory you're talking about) and there are more physical dimensions. The hot topic in discussions of string theory is the 4th physical dimension because it's the easiest to try and garner.

Long story short, when a "spirit" leaves the body, it's leaving it's 3 dimensional shell and is no longer restrained to the movements of up/down, left/right, forward/backward. If there are higher physical dimensions that we can't perceive, then it means there are ways in which we can move and interact with the world that we're completely blind to as 3 dimensional beings. I've been toying with the idea that what some people are interacting with and deeming "ghosts" could be 4th dimensional beings, or some form of higher dimensional life that is beyond out physical senses to perceive. But through the use of electronics as a medium for augmenting our senses, we can catch shadows of that which we're blind to all around us. An example of the principal behind this idea would be that we use cameras to try and catch pictures of ghosts. Cameras see more than we do because they catch a broader spectrum of light. We can't see Ultraviolet light or Infrared light but cameras can pick it up, and if light is the result of strings vibrating on a higher dimension then these strings can interact with higher dimensions and bring echoes of information from those dimensions to ours. Why it only happens on the extreme ends of the light spectrum? Who knows.... It could be that information is better preserved measuring the changes in the polar opposites of the spectrum. Radar and some high powered telescopes work by using the Doppler effect, it measures the changes in red and blue light shifts (UV and IR) to determine, speed / distance / which direction objects are moving.

Another phenomena closely associated with ghosts is that of shadow people. These are beings comprised entirely of shadow and have been seen in both 2 and 3 dimensional forms. I've been toying with an idea for what they may be as well. When we stand in the light we give off a 2 dimensional shadow, it has a length and width, but no height of its own. One would assume that the same principle would apply to higher dimensional beings in the sense that a 4th dimensional being would give off a 3 dimensional shadow. It may be that these "shadow people" are nothing more than the manifestations of a 4th dimensional beings shadow, and given that only their shadow is 3 dimensional, it is the only part of the being that we can perceive. Physicists have pondered what 3 dimensional shadows of 4th dimensional objects would look like, and an example they've come up with is the tesseract. It may seem an oddball theory but it's whats been running through my head.

- M.

[partingtheveil-blog]

Sasquatch:

Linked photos by M. Rangel

Some of the hobbies I've taken up lend themselves well to the paranormal. I like hiking, photography, and astronomy. So when I have an opportunity to go out into a secluded part of the woods, I make sure to bring my camera and my 30x power monocular. On one of my outings to Mt. Ranier national park (Carbon river entrance) I noticed a particular foot print in the sand while I was heading toward the Chenuis falls trail. It was very large and somewhat disfigured, I took a couple of pictures of it, but I wish that I'd thought to place something next to it for a sense of scale. This discovery heightened my belief in the possibility of bigfoot. The foot print I found was a little different from a normal bare human foot print. Differences that I noted were:

It's larger than a normal foot print

It's toes are shaped differently, they're a little on the chunky / blocky side

It has a less defined arch, the sides of the feet have less curvature

The foot has different proportions when it comes to foot vs. toe length

I took a photo of a print that I made in the snow using a pair of Vibram 5 fingers. This is so you can compare the differences between the overall foot structure. Now I wear about a size 10 for the 5 fingers and the tracks I made were ~ 4" shorter than the one that I found hiking. The depth of the prints were about the same, but I have to keep in mind that the snow is less dense than the sand where I found the bigfoot print. I should note that I'm over the 200lb mark and as such am not very light on my feet.

People often argue that the existence of a giant ape in the pacific northwest isn't likely because if it were to exist there would be more sightings of it, or some hiker would have stumbled across the body of one in the woods. I have some points I would like to make to counter this argument. The first being that I don't believe people have an honest understanding of just how vast the wilderness is in Washington state. There are thousands of acres of dense woodland in which a creature such as Sasquatch could exist. Also backpackers and hikers tend to stay within a certain distance of trails and camp grounds, and very few traverse the true wild lands of the state. There are many places which are near impossible to travel through, and that are inhospitable to humans without the right training and gear. I believe that these large barrel chested apes are adept and surviving in dense woodlands at high elevations. It's my belief that if there is a species of giant apes living in the pacific northwest then they live in the high elevations of the mountains far from human settlements, only coming down from their sanctuaries when the weather drives them out.

Another thing I would like to point out is that their are many outdoors-men who could spend their entire lives in the wilderness without ever catching sight of a predator such as a bear or cougar. I myself have personally seen both bear and cougar tracks in the woods on multiple occasions. This ties in with the fact that people have greater success finding bigfoot prints than Sasquatch himself. I have only once in my life seen a bear in the woods, and it was from a distance. While it's not a daily occurrence, people do spot what they believe to be bigfoot in the wilderness. Why it's not more prevalent is something I plan to postulate on. It's said that you'll never see a cougar in the woods, because if they're near they're up in the trees behind you, stalking you. Now if an instinctual predatory species can elude humans easily in the woods, why is it that people find it hard to believe that an intelligent great ape would be able to do the same. I believe that people tend to view bigfoot as a large blundering imbecile who, do to his size, can't help but be found. This perception is entirely wrong. It is my belief that this species of giant ape is predatory, and as such is both a cunning hunter, and adept at hiding itself. If you think of Sasquatch as a creature as ferocious as a bear with the intelligence of an early human, then the pieces start to fit together. Most wild animals stay away from humans, because they recognize us as a threat. If there is an intelligent ape species it's likely to be able to pick up on other animals response to us, and as such be wary of our presence themselves. If this is the case then I'm impressed that there are as many bigfoot sightings as there are. And as for coming across a dead body in the woods, I'd like to ask when was the last time someone came across the dead body of a bear or cougar in the woods. While skeptics will still claim that we should have found some remains if not a body, I lend that perhaps this species is more closely related to us that we dare think, and as such take care of their dead.

- M.

[partingtheveil-blog]

Photos by M. Rangel

Wellington

Wellington was a small mountain town in Washington state that played host to one of the worst avalanches in US history. It's noted as being one of Washington states most haunted areas, due to the lives that were lost there during the avalanche. If you're interested in getting to know more about the area and its history please read the Wikipedia entry here. I took a trip to Wellington in June of 2010 with a local paranormal investigations group. While the trip was overall uneventful for me I did take some quality pictures of the area. The most notable experience I had on the trip was an uneasy feeling when traversing the tunnel, that feeling seemed to let up after crossing the snow melt and a small bridge. 

- M.

[partingtheveil-blog]

Video by M. Rangel

Ghostly Communications:

To continue on the topic of ghosts I'm embedding the video above. This is a clip of an investigation I conducted with my brother in law. It is one of a few we've performed at this particular house. In it we use a flashlight which has had the cap loosened to where the circuit is just broken to communicate with possible spirits. We set the light up so it won't go off accidentally by touching it, and if it is to go off it is because an outside force is acting on it. As I've said we've done a number of investigations here, using different lights in different rooms, with different observers and all have had similar effects. Now it could be that the lights just happen to be turning on due to loose connections, but the appearance of intelligence behind when they choose to turn on leads me to believe otherwise. Feel free to comment, and I hope you enjoy the video clip.

Also I'd like to note, that I can promise that there was no physical person turning the light on and off. There was no remote set up, it is just a normal mag light, and what you're witnessing is what really happened. We sat in a dark empty room with the light on a box and had it respond to our conversation / questions. (There is sound, it's just faint.)

- M.

[partingtheveil-blog]

Photo by M. Rangel

On Ghosts:

The reality of ghosts is a subject of debate, for our purposes I'm going to assume that disembodied spirits are a reality. There are many theories on the nature of ghosts, how they can interact with our world if they exist and what their purpose is. It's my belief that all humans have a consciousness that exists outside of our bodies, and when we die that this conscious energy survives. I don't believe that the normal path a spirit takes after death is to linger on this plane of existence and haunt the world. I think it takes a certain set of circumstance for a spirit to stay, be it a fear of the light or something else. If these spirits exist then the question is how and why do they interact with us. Popular theories claim that ghosts draw on energy available to them in their environment in order to affect the physical world. Ghosts are able to manipulate the electromagnetic energy of electronic devices and as such our technology can be used as a means of communication. I think that it is entirely possible that disembodied spirits, being comprised of energy, would be able to draw on that available around them. I believe this occurs much in the same way that we eat in order to generate energy, and some things like sugar provide energy better than others such as tree bark. I think that ghosts "feed" on the energy around them, and that some sources are easier to draw on than others. These energies being heat, electromagnetism, or emotional energies given off by the living. Ghosts draw and focus these energies in order to cause changes in the world of the living, be it slamming doors or turning lights on and off. The later likely being easier since it doesn't involve moving a physical object. We humans exist in the physical world, and are able to move about it interacting with the things around us. In the same way ghosts exist in an energetic world, and are able to move about and interact with it. I believe that ghosts want their presence to be known and to communicate with the living because they're confused, distraught, have unfinished business, or are lonely. Ultimately their purpose for communication lies on the reason why they chose to linger. But regardless, the possibility that human ghosts exist is an exciting prospect because it would confirm the belief that existence continues on after death.

The photo above was taken at an old Victorian style house which burned down twice. In it there is what appears to be an apparition of an older woman in the bottom left corner. I can't claim that this is definitive proof that ghosts exist, as it could just be the human brain trying to make sense out of disarray. But what I can say is that this photo is unaltered, and that the specter of an old woman was not present when I took this image.

- M.

[partingtheveil-blog]

Introduction

My name is Mike Rangel, I'm from western Washington and I'm interested in all things paranormal. It's my belief that there's more to this life than what we think we know. I intend for "Parting the veil" to be a source of information on the paranormal, be it paraphrased articles with links, or personal investigations and research. I hope that I can peel back the curtain for those interested in learning more about the world that lies just outside our own. The Pacific northwest is a hot spot for many kinds of activity, from Bigfoot sightings to UFO's. I plan on doing hands on research and investigations, the results of which I'll share here. As far as my personal background goes, I'm an accounting major at the University of Washington and a Lead at Boeing. While these things are good, my heart belongs to science, and I plan on going back and earning my associates in science followed by a BS in molecular biology. I'll apply all the skills I have towards my search, and I hope through it we can all learn a little more about this world we live in.