Paradigm Symposium 2013

I'm pleased to announce that I've been asked to return to the Paradigm Symposium in 2013.  Held in October in Minneapolis, MN, 2012's Paradigm Symposium was one of the best events of recent years.  Hosted in style by Intrepid magazine's Scotty Roberts and Micah Hanks, the Symposium includes lectures, a special banquet, VIP cocktail party and endless opportunities to meet the
speakers and other attendees.

Next year's event promises to be even more spectacular.  Several popular speakers from last year have agreed to return including Philip Coppens, Giorgio Tsoukalos and Dr. John Ward.  Other speakers are being announced as they confirm and it's sure to be an impressive list.

Over a month since the 2012 conference, attendees are still talking about this event.  Tickets for the 2013 gathering are already on sale.  Get your early bird tickets now while they're available, the event is sure to sell out.

For more information about the 2013 Paradigm Symposium go to:

http://www.paradigmsymposium.com/

Coast To Coast AM

I'll be on Coast To Coast AM with George Noory Tuesday night from 11-2 pacific time.  Listen in as we discuss the paranormal and my book, The Black Eyed Children.

http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2012/11/27

Black Eyed Children

The Black Eyed Children was published in March of 2012 and the first edition was a sellout success.  I'm happy to announce that the second edition is rolling off the presses!  The book has been re-edited and includes a new foreword by Nick Redfern.  Copies can be purchased directly from www.Leprechaunpress.com

The Mayans & 2012

Are we mere weeks away from the end of the world?
For the past few years, the mass media has helped promote the fear surrounding the end of the Mayan calendar.  December 21, 2012 we are told, is doomsday.  The last day of the Mayan calendar and the supposed destruction of the earth.  Countless movies have shown us dramatic displays of the destruction but there's much debate as to the form it will take.  Massive earthquakes, volcanoes and tidal waves are all thrown in the mix.  Some new age groups believe that a pole shift will occur
with the north and south poles suddenly trading their positions, wiping us all from existence.

Our planet has faced doomsday, or rather doomsday predictions, on numerous occasions.  There was mass panic at the end of the first millennium A.D.  The year 999 turned out to be quite a prosperous one for churches and monasteries as people donated all of their earthly wealth, hoping for a chance at salvation before the end came with the dawn of the year 1000.  There have been other end points predicted too.  The year 1524 was supposed to bring a great flood that would end the world on February 20th.  This prediction was based on a conjunction of the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.  Alas, there was only a bit of rain here and there.
We've had modern scares of the end too.  The year 1999 saw a rise in Armageddon fever.  It seemed that the year 2000 was scheduled to bring about a great cyber collapse.  Better known as Y2K, the dawn of 2000 was supposed to usher in the total downfall of all technology throwing us back to the stone age.  Yet, here we are in 2012 and every teenager in sight has a cell phone in hand.

The biggest question that should be asked about the end of the Mayan calendar is, what do the Mayans themselves say?

There are a lot of mysteries surrounding the Mayan civilization but they are certainly not extinct as some people believe.  I've had the honor of meeting Mayan elders on some of my travels.  Years ago when I spoke with them, they considered the whole idea absurd. 

"It's only the end of a cycle, not the end of the world" one elder told me.  The Mayans were very advance in the art of time keeping and were able to track cycles well into the future.  The December date marks the end of a cycle in the Mayan long count calendar. 

"We see this not as an ending, but as a transition time.  It is a chance for all of us to change how we chose to conduct ourselves, to change what isn't working and to live in a better way.  There will be some turmoil yes, but sometimes that is needed to help people wake up and take notice that things must change."
Despite the Mayans long battle against the doomsday myth, the government of Guatemala seems to prefer the end of the world scenario.  In fact, this December, Guatemala's Ministry of Culture is hosting a massive event in Guatemala city.  The gathering is being promoted as a 'doomsday' celebration and the country expects close to 100,000 attendees.  Apparently, the government is hoping to profit from the end of the world.
An alliance of traditional Mayans called Oxlaljuj Ajpop plans to hold scared events in five cities to counter the government sponsored doomsday party.  The group's leader, Felipe Gomez states, "We are speaking out against deceit, lies and twisting of the truth, and turning us into folklore-for-profit.  They are not telling the truth about time cycles."
There will of course be changes.  We've been seeing these on a global scale for the past few years and it should be clear to everyone by now that we simply must transform how we conduct ourselves on this planet.  The Mayans believe that the end of this cycle brings with it the opportunity to re-evaluate ourselves and our society.  Yes, there's war, chaos and strife all around us but we don't have to accept it as our permanent reality.  If we take the Mayan lessons to heart and work together for a more positive future, there is nothing that we can't accomplish. 

If you prefer to hold to the belief that the world is about to end and want to dump all of your money, well, feel free to send it my way, I'm not a church but I'll be sure it's put to good use.  Otherwise, let's all focus on a positive, spiritual world as we enter 2013.

PRS Radio

Monday, November 19th, I'll be appearing on Paranormal State Radio to chat with host Alex Matsuo.  Join me for what's sure to be a unique chat as we discuss the black eyed children.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theprs/2012/11/20/let-me-in-talking-black-eyed-children-with-david-weatherly

Beyond the Edge

Catch me this week on Beyond the Edge with Eric Altman, Lon Strickler and Sean Forker.

We'll be live on Sunday night at 8PM eastern time.

http://naturalplane.blogspot.com/2012/11/this-week-on-beyond-edge-radio-david.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PhantomsAndMonstersAPersonalJourney+%28Phantoms+and+Monsters%29&utm_content=FaceBook

Are the Pyramids in Danger?

The Pyramids of Egypt are some of the most recognized monuments in the world.  They are surrounded in mystery and have been the source of countless theories regarding their construction and purpose.

But are these iconic structures now in danger of being destroyed?

The Pyramid fields from Giza to Dahshur are listed as a World Heritage site, but despite their historical significance and importance, some Islamic leaders are now calling for their destruction.
An Egyptian jihadist with self-professed connections to the terrorist Taliban is calling for the destruction of the Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.  Appearing on Egyptian television, Murgan Salem al-Gohary has urged Muslims to "destroy the idols" referring to the pyramids, sphinx and other ancient structures.
He stressed during the interview, "All Muslims are charged with applying the teachings of Islam to remove such idols, as we did in Afghanistan when we destroyed the Buddha statues."  He further stated, "God ordered Prophet Mohammed to destroy idols, when I was with the Taliban we destroyed the statue of Buddha, something the government failed to do.”
Murgan Salem al-Gohary is referring to the destruction of two thousand year old Buddhist statues in Afghanistan in 2001 when the Taliban were in control of the country.
It was only after the fall of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011 that al-Gohary was released from prison.  Since then, he has, along with other conservative Islamists, been a proponent of the strict application of Sharia law in the country's new constitution.
Other radicals have also called for the destruction of Egypt's monuments.  The "Sheikh of Sunni Sheikhs" Abd al-latif al-Mahmoud has urged Egypt's new president, Muhammad Morsi, to "destroy the Pyramids".

While some radicals call for the destruction of what they call "symbols of paganism" many Muslims have a more reasonable view.  They point out that the Sphinx and the pyramids are not worshiped as idols.  The ultra-conservative Salafi Muslims however, hold a more extreme view.  The Salafi Muslims follow conservative principles and they view all statues and sculptures as objects prohibited by Islam.  Recent parliamentary elections in Egypt have seen the Salafis gain more political power in the country.

It's hard for westerners to conceive of the idea of tearing down the pyramids, but time will tell how the current Egyptian government will deal with the political pressure to do so.  Most people hope that the new president, Mohammed Mursi, will help preserve the monuments and cultural heritage of the country.

The Egyptian government has recently announced that it will reveal more of its ancient treasures including the tomb of Queen Meresankh III, the granddaughter of Khufu as well as the underground Serapeum temple at Sakkara.

Provo Canyon Bigfoot

A recent Bigfoot video making the rounds on the Internet has captured the interest of Cryptozoologist and Sasquatch enthusiasts.  The short clip, captured in Provo Canyon, Utah shows what appears to be a Sasquatch type creature rising up amidst some foliage. Uploaded by a user named 'Beard Card', the original video clip has already scored millions of youtube hits and continues to attract attention.

Beard Card was in the area on a camping trip with three other people.  The videographer and the others were in the canyon observing the herds of deer so prevalent in the area.  The group spotted what they at first thought was a black bear moving behind some trees near Squaw Peak and Little Rock Canyon.  As the dark figure was moving along, Beard Card began filming.  Suddenly, what they assumed was a bear rose up to a bipedal position.  Unfortunately, Beard Card ran away in a panic just as the figure stood up, causing the camera to pan away and leaving many unanswered questions.  He has stated in interviews that he does not know exactly what the figure was and that he was not involved in any kind of hoax. 

While the video continues to generate interest, many people have speculated that the figure may be someone in a gorilla suit.  If true, it was a risky time for such a hoax since the footage was captured during deer hunting season.
The video clip certainly doesn't provide enough data to conclude wether or not the subject is simply a human or if it is indeed an unknown bipedal creature.  Personally, I don't believe that the figure is a bear as some have speculated.  It's possible that it's a human, perhaps a hunter who was quietly waiting for deer although there's no evidence of a firearm.

Utah's wilderness area is vast so the possibility of an unknown creature in the state is much higher than in more densely populated regions.
An enhanced version of the Provo Canyon footage can be seen here:

Phantom BEKs

This account of a pair of BEKs in Pittsburgh, PA was recently sent to me.  Oddly, one of the children doesn't seem to have fully materialized during this encounter.  This led the witness to believe he had seen a ghost, but perhaps it's a clue as to the true nature of these beings.

"My wife and I moved to Pittsburgh, PA in 2001.  She had family in the area and she'd always wanted to be close to them.  At first, we rented an apartment for a year while we settled into new jobs.  Once the year was up and we had decided to stay in the area, we started looking for a house.  By 2002, we moved into our own house, a one story place that we found for a good price.  The neighborhood was clean and quiet and within a couple of months we had met most of the families on the block.  It was a great place to live.
My wife and I both worked about the same hours, so except for occasional overtime, we usually arrived home around the same time.  This strange incident happened to us in September of 2002.  It was a weekday around the later part of the month.  I got home first and my wife about a half hour after me.  We talked for a minute but my wife wasn't feeling too well, so she went to the bedroom to lay down.  I was sitting in the living room, watching some sports.  About fifteen minutes after my wife had gone to the bedroom, there was a knock at the front door.  It was sort of loud and I didn't want it to wake her so I put my drink and the TV remote down and quickly got up.  It was strange
because the knocking just kept going, the person wouldn't let up.  When I opened the door, there was this kid standing on the step.  He was wearing a gray hooded top and his hands were stuck in the pockets.  I wondered for a moment how he had been knocking because his hands were in his pockets.  I'd never seen this boy in the neighborhood before.  He was staring straight at me and his look was rather mean.  Before I even said anything, this kid says 'I want to come into your house now.'
The hair on the back of my neck went up, this kid's tone was so cold.  He looked about ten years old, and this didn't sound right coming from him.  I looked at him and realized his eyes were solid black.  I felt like I was starting to panic.  I don't know why I did it, but I looked beyond him, out to the street.  Maybe I was hoping there was someone else out there, I don't know.  When I looked back at the boy, I only glanced at his face, I couldn't stand those eyes.  Then I glanced down and realized I couldn't really see his feet.  I know how strange this sounds, I don't really know how to explain it, it's almost like his legs just faded away.  I slammed the door on him and turned around to see my wife rushing into the room.  She looked frightened and said to me; 'There's a kid knocking on the bedroom window and he has black eyes!'  I was so stunned I didn't know what to say.  I opened the front door again but there was no one there.  I ran outside and went to the corner of the house where our bedroom windows were, again there was no one there.  There must have been two of those kids, but I simply can't imagine that they were able to get away from the house so quickly.  There was something so unnatural about the boy I saw standing on the steps, and I've never understood
why I couldn't see his feet.  For a long time, I thought that we had seen ghosts.  It's only in the past year that we came across stories of the black eyed children on the Internet.  We now believe this is what we witnessed.  Thankfully, they never returned."

Paradigm 2012

A few special pics from this year's Paradigm Symposium.  See you all next year!