Orbs
in Photographs
by
Julia Melges-Brenner. Copyright Sabrina Scott, Inc. All rights
reserved. Written for and originally published in Kajama.
Dear
Julia:
It would be
wonderful if you could talk about orbs and why they show up in
photographs. What are they? What is the meaning of this phenomenon?
I've been experimenting with getting orbs in photos for a while now,
and it has made me more spiritual. Love and blessings!
Kazi
Dear Kazi:
While the orb phenomenon is pretty well known, a bit of digging will
turn up all sorts of other fascinating things regularly caught by
cameras. Many people believe that digital cameras are much better at
capturing subtle energies than single lens reflex cameras. That may or
may not be true, but most experts agree that digital cameras are much
more likely to create misleading results. I have had many photos of
orbs sent to me over the years, and in my opinion, most of them were
easily explained by mundane causes. Also, though many claim to see
"faces" in orbs, I've never seen an orb with an undeniable visage.
This doesn't mean that all photos of seemingly paranormal
manifestations are invalid. Unfortunately, it does mean that
many people dismiss all such photos as false because so many of them
are the result of the camera capturing things like dust or moisture.
It's important to stay grounded and discerning when approaching orb
research in order to avoid fooling yourself and making a mockery of the
whole subject. The rest of this article addresses those pictures that
actually do reflect something "paranormal."
Please note that I'm no expert on spirit photography or orbs. Since
there are people for whom this subject is a passion, you might get a
better answer if you asked someone who is actively involved in this
research. I can, however, tell you about my personal thoughts and
experiences. My best theory is that the strange, inexplicable balls of
light that sometimes appear in photographs are vehicles that
metaphysical beings use to explore the physical world. These may be
human spirits, nature spirits, angels, spirit guides, beings from other
worlds like aliens, or all of these and more.
Some people claim that these are artificial vehicles like the cars and
planes we use to travel the planet. They explain that beings in other
times or dimensions figured out how to project their consciousness into
these artificial vehicles in order to explore other worlds. It is
fascinating to contemplate the idea that someday, we may be able to
hook ourselves up to some sort of highly sophisticated virtual reality
machine and mentally travel through other realms. Other people suggest
that orbs allow beings in other dimensions to look into this world,
much as one might look through a porthole in a submarine in order to
view the world underwater. (This does seem apt if one accepts the idea
that many orbs contain "faces.") However, to me it seems more likely
that orbs are a natural vehicle
for metaphysical beings exploring this realm. For example, when we
astral project, we may appear to beings in other worlds like balls of
light or energy even though we don't purposefully take on that (or any
other particular) form.
There are some interesting patterns regarding the manifestation of
orbs. For one thing, they have a tendency to show up in photos that are
taken during happy gatherings such as weddings, holidays and birthday
celebrations. They are especially prone to manifesting when people have
been fondly talking about departed loved ones or engaged in spiritual
practices.
About five years ago, my parents took my daughter on a trip to Florida,
where they visited Sea World. When they got home, the family gathered
to see the pictures they had taken. I was perusing a stack of photos
when I came across one that had all three of them in it with a huge orb
hovering nearby. Immediately my departed grandmother came into my mind,
so I asked, "Was anyone thinking of Grandma when this shot was taken?"
My parents looked at me in disbelief and said, "How did you know that?
We were talking about her right before the picture was taken!"
This also works in reverse: when people sense the presence of a spirit
and they think to try to capture something on film, they often end up
with photos that contain orbs, mists, shadowy figures or other unusual
features that were not apparent to the naked eye. There are also some
fascinating pictures of babies or small children in which the child
seems to be staring at an orb. The adults, however, only discovered the
anomaly upon viewing the picture later.
Some of the hardest evidence that orb photos are more than pictures of
dust or moisture is found in the way they seem to consciously respond
to photographers. As many researchers have discovered, orbs tend to
show up for people when they are asked to. They will also come closer
when asked, stop coming closer when asked, and even disappear if
someone becomes frightened. Indeed, the more one develops a
"relationship" with orbs, the more amazing pictures tend to result.
I first learned this via experimentation years ago. A woman emailed me
some photos she had taken that had orbs in them. As we corresponded, I
suggested that she meditate before shooting and ask for orbs to
manifest for her on film. (This was before digital cameras were
common.) As soon as she started to do this, the quality of her pictures
began to change. Over time, she got more and more interesting shots,
including pictures that looked like parallel dimensions imposed over
this one. Other photographers have gotten similar results, including
amazing shots in which living people seem to be transparent like ghosts!
Another fascinating area of research is the connection between orbs and
crop circles. It seems that many photos and even films taken of crop
circles contain orbs. Some researchers speculate that orbs represent
multidimensional beings who are trying to communicate with us via crop
circles, photos and other means. As I'm running out of room, I'll list
some good sites to get you started.
For more on the connection between orbs and crop circles, go to Circular
Site. There are many
amazing photos here, so explore the site in depth. (Note the "continue"
buttons at the bottom of
many pages.)
Beyond
Photography has some
fascinating photos.
At Orbs: The Veil is Lifting you
can watch an intriguing film about orbs. (Check out the trailer.)
There are some interesting photos of various phenomena at paranormal.about.com.
To see orbs seem to respond to requests, check out
this video.
this video.</A>
Finally, as for the "meaning" behind
why orbs show up in photos, I presume that most of the time, they are
captured simply because they are there. (Why they are there may be
another subject altogether.) However, as I've explained above, it is
possible to request for them to show up, in which case they are
responding to our desire for contact with them. There are also many
people who report having very positive feelings when in the presence of
orbs, and who, like you, claim they became "more
spiritual" after orb encounters. It's thus entirely
possible that orbs are trying to have some sort of spiritual impact on
us.
-
Julia
For the latest column, check out this week's edition of Kajama.
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