Reviews were admittedly mixed for our premiere, but we hope you’ll give the program a chance to get our legs and our audience as we welcome Hypnotist, James Hazlerig. We’ll talk about some of the weird news, such as the hypnotist in Quebec who had to get his mentor to come in and break his audience out of a trance. James will also talk about the unusual area of using hypnosis to tap into our past lives.
Tune in live to call in with questions or save the podcast for later. Tonight’s episode airs live at 8:30pm Central, Thursday, July 12th, 2012 (if the show has already aired, you can always catch the episode on our Blog Talk Radio widget on the right side of the page).
Tune in for an all new experience, and join us as we Journey Into Twilight together.
We would like to announce the premiere of Journey Into Twilight, a brand new weekly podcast available here on museumoftheweird.com!
Join famed Texas mojo-man Doc Ravencraft and Museum of the Weird owner Steve Busti each week for discussions with psychics, UFO hunters, cryptozoologists, paranormal explorers, practitioners of magick, as well as artists from the horror and fantasy genre. And as always, we’ll be taking your phone calls. It’s a delightful departure into the space between the light and the shadows.
The first episode airs live at 8:30pm Central on Thursday, July 5th, 2012. And don’t worry if the premiere has already aired, you can always catch the episode on our Blog Talk Radio widget on the right side of the page.
Tune in for an all new experience, and join us as we Journey Into Twilight together.
While some of you might think that someone who goes by the title of “Authentic Texas Mojo Man” might be squatting in a hut somewhere, shunning any connection with technology and eating anything unlucky enough to crawl within my grasp, the truth is that I’m fairly wired for a wizard. Technology helps me keep up with others in the world and I benefit from it a lot. I also make sure that I know where the off switch is for everything! This week I’m going to be turning off a lot of my technology while I surround myself with the love and company of family and friends in the traditional Thanksgiving holiday as celebrated in the United States.
However, as I prepare, I thought it was fun to see the Google search trends moving from the typical sports, politics, murder and other things that pass for news nowadays to people searching for green bean casserole and pecan pie recipes. That gives me hope for the humans and starts me thinking about what makes this time a special and sacred one.
There is a profound power in the giving of thanks. It seems like such a trivial thing, but it is the completion of the cycle of wishing. First you decide what you want. Then you visualize it clearly and send that idea out into the Universe. Next you do the work and put the resources that you can into making things come true… while you accept what the Universe has to offer to bring your wish. Finally, you acknowledge what you received and you give thanks! If you leave out that last step then you aren’t done.
Why? Why is it important to give thanks? It seems to me that anyone who would ask that question is looking for a loophole, and I’m tempted to just let them discover for themselves. I won’t worry about them, though and I’ll give my answer to you. It’s simple energy. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When you make the wish and the wish is granted that leaves the ball in your court so to speak. If you don’t lob it back by giving thanks then the game is over. When you do give thanks it takes some of that energy that you received and puts it back into play, available for you and for everyone who needs it.
You may not believe that. That’s OK. It doesn’t really matter if you believe it or not. It still works. Think abut the last time that you gave profound thanks for something, expressed true gratitude. Do you remember the way that felt, that wash of goodness? Do you remember the joy that you felt in others as you thanked them? All of that is real. That is energy moving around and it makes a difference. If you’ve gotten out of the habit of showing gratitude for what you receive then you’ve just forgotten what all of this feels like and you need to get back into the game.
There will be a lot of people who will sit around the table with family and friends and they will bitch about everything. They’ll bring up old family squabbles and pick, pick, pick on each other. They’ll complain about problems with work, with the car, with everything. It will throw a huge grey cloud over everything that not even grandma’s homemade pie can overcome. Don’t you do that!
Think of everything, anything, that you have. If you’ve gotten caught up in everyone’s misery game you may have to work for it, but I promise you that there is something to be grateful for. (I’ll give you a hint. You have life. That’s a start.) Once things come to mind they will likely lead to others and you will realize that you have a greater abundance than you imagined. If not, then you’re just out of practice. If there are people at hand who you feel deserve some of this gratitude, then thank them directly. You’ll light them up. If not, then just thank God, or the Universe or whatever you can envision. Think about how what you have has made a difference to you and let that good feeling flow out of you. Feels good, doesn’t it?
You may even find that if you take an attitude of genuine gratitude that you’ll infect the others and they will feel the joy of gratitude as well. You may even find that the conversation turns to good memories and people let the cares and concerns go for just a little while.
… so we have asked our resident “Texas mojo man”, Doc Ravencraft, so help get to the bottom of things. This Halloween weekend, Doc will be performing a series of old-time séances to try to contact the spirit (or spirits) that are roaming the Museum’s corridors.
Would you like to take part? Well you can! Doc Ravencraft is reserving a very select few seats for guests who would like to attend and take part in contacting the spirits here. You can get more info and reserve your seat here.
I know that you’ve come to think of me as a fountain of wisdom, but today I’m going to be crassly commercial.
It’s Friday, and that means that I’ll be presenting at the Museum as a special attraction. What does that mean? It means for only $5 extra you get to go beyond the back door of the Museum, into the courtyard, up the stairs and into the new Inner Sanctum Theatre. It’s the only way that you’ll get to see the incredible life-size King Kong (and take your picture with him). Once there, you’ll also get to spend some special time with yours truly for an excursion into the weird.
What awaits you? I’ll bring out some of the strange artifacts from the Museum and my own collection and share their bizarre stories. (Be prepared. These things sometimes like to show off a little when they get some attention and it’s very likely that something weird will happen.) You’ll experience psychic phenomena, due to the strong qualities of the Museum’s location. (I believe it’s a combination of ley line placement and it’s central location to so much haunted activity in Austin. Whatever the reading, it’s a great place to perform psychic experiments so we may have a chance to read each others minds!) We’ll also see if the Museum’s resident ghost is in the mood to communicate.
What an incredible deal for the price of an adult beverage (if you have good taste). I’ll open the doors tonight at 7:00, 8:00 and 9:00.
I’ve also confirmed that we will be holding séance presentations over Halloween weekend for a lucky few. There will be two sessions per night at 7:00 and 9:00 PM and tickets will be $25. Seating is extremely limted, with only 10 people per session. I will demonstrate for you the methods used by old school ghost hunters in your great, great grandparent’s day. We’ll try to connect with the Museum’s ghost and some of the others who are in the area. Everyone will have the chance to have a question answered by the spirits. If you are a fan of the paranormal this is a unique opportunity to experience the spirit world. This close to Halloween I expect the veil to be quite thin. We should get good results. All seats must be reserved in advance. Do it now! Contact the Museum by phone at (512) 476-5493 or email steve@museumoftheweird.com.
10:00 PM CST, Wednesday, 10/19/2011: It’s that time of the week… time to ease into your favorite chair, sit back and relax as we explore the sublime world of the strange, the odd, and the unusual. It’s time once again for… The Shadow Hour.
Nate Riddle joins us to talk about his book “Lone Star Spooks.” It should be another great discussion of haunts in Texas.
As always, you can listen right here with our blogtalkradio widget! You can listen to past broadcasts at any time, or tune in tonight. (Wednesday, October 19, 2011) at 10pm Central for the live broadcast. Be sure to check out the show notes, too. See you in the shadows…
OK, folks. It’s started. We broke the cheap champagne to open the private show room at the Museum of the Weird. For all of you who came by to watch the Zombie Movies with us last weekend, I hope that nothing followed you home. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
This Friday I am going to begin what we are calling an “Extra Attraction.” For an extra $5 (the price of an adult beverage if you have good taste) you will be able to go beyond the museum and up into the show room for some special time with Yours Truly for what will promise to be some truly weird entertainment.
I’m going to take advantage of the unusual psychic an ghostly nature of that space to delve into the paranormal. You’ll get to know the ghost of the Museum as well as the many that surround the building in downtown Austin. We’ll find out if it’s true that people are more psychic when they are in the Museum. I may also be able to drag out some of the undisplayed artifacts that really should not be viewed without some supervision.
If you are curious about the paranormal, if you have always wondered what it’s like to have a ghostly encounter or a psychic experience, if you just like things a little on the weird side, come join me at the Museum of the Weird, starting this Friday, 10/14/2011 and most Fridays after that.
Presentations are at 7:00 PM, 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
Entrance is $10, which includes access to the Museum ($5 value). You can purchase your tickets here.
All this week, the Museum of the Weird is celebrating our undead friends… ZOMBIES!… as we get set to launch our new eagerly-anticipated live horror host show, the Weird Theatre Midnight Spookshow, premiering TODAY (Friday, October 7th) at the Museum of the Weird (live on stage)! Tickets are only $10 for a full day pass for all the movies, and includes admission to Museum of the Weird!
To help celebrate all things zombie, Thursday at 2:00pm we gave away free tickets to the upcoming zombie film, The Dead, opening in Austin October 7th! The passes are for a special midnight screening tonight, October 7th, at the Alamo Drafthouse on West Anderson Lane. While the free tickets are gone, you can still buy tickets to any of the screenings today, which will feature a Q&A with director Howard Ford.
We’ll also be hosting guests galore tonight and tomorrow:
• Meet Doc Ravencraft, Authentic Texas Mojo Man, who consults behind the scenes at the Museum and for The Shadow Hour. He’ll be hosting the Weird Theatre Midnight Spookshow weekend, featuring an undead smorgasbord of classic zombie-themed flicks, including Night of the Living Dead, Zombie and more!
• Aron Houdini, great nephew of the legendary Harry Houdini, will be performing on stage tonight at 9pm.
• The Dead director Howard Ford makes an appearance this Saturday from Noon to 2:30pm.
• Greg Lawson, author of the book “Zombie Advocacy” will be signing advance copies on Saturday from 2pm-5pm.
• Plus possible surprise guests from the Paranormal Convention!
Check back here or follow us on Facebook and Twitter to get more details as they become available!
I know someone who is much more than he will allow himself to be. As I think about it, I know a number of people like that. They are people who look at what is going on the world and they just curl up into a ball and wish that someone would come and fix things for them. You tell them that they get to pick the color of their glasses (I like mine rose-colored myself) and they look at you and say “That’s all good for you, but it doesn’t work that way for me.”
Did you hear that? They look at me and explain that their view of the world is that stuff like that doesn’t happen to them, and they are right! Drives me crazy. Of course, these are the same people that come back later asking me if I can send a little mojo their way to help them with this or that. Usually it’s not something that really needs my help. It’s something that they could do themselves, but they fear it somehow, and I sometimes lack the stamina to hand out tough love.
It saddens me terribly to see people driven by so much fear today. It’s especially sad when I can see the power that people have. I can see it, but I can’t make people use it. I can’t make them talk about themselves and their world in positive terms rather than always giving power to the negative things. I can’t make people trust themselves and their ability to get through something rather than waiting for someone to tell them that it’s safe. Ha! It’s never safe! Plans go awry; mistakes are made; plans fall apart… and every single one of those things leads you to the next thing… but with you walking your path, not shivering in the shadow of others!
OK. I’ve gotten a little excited here. I’ll calm down a bit. What I want to tell you — yes, you — is that you’ve got more mojo in your little finger than those worldly fears have in their entire being. You — yes, I’m still talking about you — can shape the world by your thoughts and your words. Now, don’t be stupid and expect to close your eyes and open them as a hip-hop star with gold records. You always start from where you are. Also, a picture like that is pretty immature. That’s something you’d see on a TV show. Do you really want to be that person, or do you want to have a happy life, with your material needs fulfilled, spending every day using your creativity, surrounded by people who appreciate your gifts? Maybe that looks like the gold-covered guy in the L.A. mansion. Maybe not. Maybe your reality — once realized — is even better.
So, universe rearranging 101 (and I’m not the only one who says this… it’s always worked like this):
Stop talking about what you don’t want and start talking about what you do want. — Stop saying things like “I wish my boss didn’t treat me like a slave.” and start saying things like “I wish my boss respected my time.” Everyone and everything follows your lead. If you keep bringing up viewing everything in negative terms, you will be right. Stop sending that garbage out there and send out the stuff that you want.
There is always another option and the choice is always yours. — This is a tough one. When you are used to being pushed around by circumstances, you imagine that there is no way out of the things you fear. There is always a way out, but you must choose it. There is always a cost associated with that choice. You may suffer some inconvenience or lose friends, possessions, or get out of your comfort zone, but it is up to you to take action or not. So, if your job makes you physically ill, leave it. If you complain about the place that you live, move. If the people around you depress you, get away from them. What will happen when you do something? Who knows? Whatever it is, it will be better than the rot that you are experiencing now. Use that mojo in your little finger to start some motion.
Pay attention to the good stuff. — This should be easy, but it seems it’s not. When good things happen to you, acknowledge them. Why? Because otherwise you will forget them as you go back to your list of evil. Good things can be simple… you woke up this morning and you weren’t dead…. you found a decent parking place… there’s a 2-for one coupon on your favorite food… anything! When something good happens I like to say “Stuff like that happens to me.” I find that as I’ve started saying that, it has become more and more true. Maybe it was always true and I wasn’t paying attention. Hmmmm? Paying attention will prove to you that your mojo is doing something… even if it’s just little ripples that are building into waves.
Express gratitude. — While you are acknowledging the good stuff, say “Thank you.” Whom shall you thank? Everyone! When the traffic breaks just when you need it to, thank God or the universe or however you envision the larger forces that make things go. If that break in traffic came from the person behind you, give a wave and think “Thank you, nice traffic person.” Look at different ways to express your thanks to people in everyday life. Get them a cup of coffee when you go to the break room. Write them a little sticky-note. There must be a hundred different on-line sites to send a free electronic card. I hear that stores still sell Thank You cards. Make gratitude a part of your life because that sends your mojo back into the universe. It takes the good that you’ve gotten and spreads it around, if only as a happy energy.
I can hear some of you grumbling about this “motivational crap.” Where’s the real power? Ha! Those are people that I’ll probably have to dress a candle for later. The truth is, the real power is in making the things that are in our head manifest out here where we can touch them. That’s what it’s all about. It can be grand and elaborate, with lots of candles and incense — and if that helps, there is nothing wrong with doing that work. It can also start to happen right there in your head.
Ahhhhh… there you go. Now you’re looking at that little finger, and you’re staring to wonder… Ha! Go for it!
[Ouija appears to be a combination of the French “oui” and German “ja,” which both mean “yes.” The French “non” and German “nein” both mean “no.” You probably already knew that.]
Recently I picked up something nice… well, nice for me anyway. It’s a 50-year-old talking board, or Ouija® board. (It’s pronounced “wee-jah” by the way, not “wee-jee.” Look at the word!) It’s a William Fuld board, made in the 1960s, before the rights went to Parker Brothers. It did not come with a planchette (that little triangle thing that they use today). It’s intended to be used with a overturned glass. I had my eye on a proper board from around 1920, but I got distracted during the critical final moments on eBay. Alas! (Yes, I use eBay. I’m a mystic, not a Luddite.)
Doc's new, old Ouija board
There is a lot of fear for people around talking boards, especially the Ouija brand. (Frankly, I find it difficult to put too much fear into the object itself. After all, it is now largely plastic, glows in the dark and made in the same factory with Mr. Potato Head!) If some of the stories people tell are true, Toys R Us would be the most terrifying place in the world. Perhaps it is!) In truth, people have explored ways of communicating with spirits before you could buy a talking board in a box. It all really got going in the mid 1800s with spirit knocks and table-tipping and all those wonderfully creative ideas that people have come up with to get around the fact that the spirit world hasn’t caught on to email.
From my own experience, working with a talking board is no more dangerous than using a pendulum or any other method where I wish to interact directly with a spirit. There is nothing about the Ouija board that makes it especially evil (except, perhaps, that it is plastic and glowy and sold in a toy store). There is nothing that makes it especially effective (except, perhaps, that people’s belief in the stories allow them to open up enough to let something happen). You could accomplish the same results with an overturned glass and a circle of Scrabble® tiles. It’s not the tool, but how you use it.
Let’s talk mechanics here for a moment. When you use a pendulum, or a talking board — or just about anything that you use to communicate with the spirits by having it move as you hold it — you are dealing with ideo motor responses. This means that your brain is subconsciously sending signals to your muscles to make something happen. Because you are not consciously doing this, it feels like it happens with an outside force, all by itself, but you are making it happen. “Gasp!” I hear some of you say. “He’s saying it’s all fake.” No! I am not! I am saying that there are natural means involved and that it’s not being pushed by “magic fingers.” You won’t get anywhere if you wait for the universe to do things without you.
You must understand that you are involved with moving these things in order to appreciate how they can become dangerous. If you want to sit down with one of these things and make it spell out whatever you wish, then you can do that. (It can be fun to get some squeally teeny-boppers and just completely punk them with what the board says. They’re not taking it seriously anyway, so why should I?) However, if you are doing it properly, you are letting go of the answers that you want it to say and letting your subconscious drive things. In other word, you are letting go of the outcome and allowing something else to drive it. Now, that may simply be thoughts hidden in your brain that are only available to your subconscious, like the last place you really saw that key. There are those who believe, though, that our subconscious mind is the one that can connect with outside influences, including spirits. In other words, you might open the communication line and become a channel for these things to talk to you. Can you see a potential problem with that?
If you believe that all this is crap, then you’re probably find no matter what. You’re mind will be closed enough that it’s pretty unlikely anything will get through. (See! Finally an advantage to being asleep!) However, if you are legitimately experimenting with these ideas and opening yourself to the possibilities, then there are some things you need to do:
Take responsibility for what you are doing. You are exploring in what may be dangerous territory. You need to be smart and you need to be attentive. If you come into contact with bad things you will have to be willing to get you and your fellow participants to safety. If that idea gives you serious doubts then leave it alone. If you make a mess, you will need to have the guts and wisdom to see that there is a problem and clean it up.
Ground, clean and clear. If you were going to meet with strangers, would you go to a rat-infested hole that was unfamiliar to you or would you try to go somewhere comfortable and safe? I guess if you’re buying crack you go wherever it is, but most of us would want to meet someplace that was at least neutral. So, take some time to make the place spiritually comfortable before you start inviting people in. I don’t think that there is a particular practice that is superior. It all depends on your own spirituality. (If you don’t have any, then this probably isn’t a good idea. If you just want the thrills, rent a movie instead.) Do what is done before you take on a serious ritual or sacrament. It may be smudging the site and casting a circle. It may be joining together and saying a prayer. If you don’t know, then you should probably work with someone who has more experience in this area before you try to do anything on your own. From what I have encountered, most of the bad things that happen with things like talking boards happen because people skip this step. They don’t bring any sort of protective force and place themselves at the mercy of anything that they encounter.
Don’t be an idiot. If something feels wrong to you, stop it. If you encounter something that feels dangerous, move away from it. There are old, dark things out there that are looking for opportunities to mess you up. You will not outsmart them like Captain Kirk giving something a logic puzzle. Forget the movies and the TV shows. Pay attention to your instincts. It would be better for you to lose out on a conversation than to allow something nasty to work through you or your friends. If something seems like it’s hiding something or the “vibe” you get is inconsistent with the words, let it go. If someone says that they are uncomfortable or describes something that they are picking up, don’t act as though it can’t be real if it didn’t happen to you. Don’t bully people into keeping contact with something that may not be nice to them. I know I’m being a little dramatic here, but you get these things for a reason. Don’t ignore them and cause unnecessary trouble for yourself.
Set some guidelines for what you are trying to do. Don’t just say “Hey! Is anyone there?” That’s like posting something on the Internet that says “Everyone come to my house! Here’s the address.” Make some decisions about who you want to contact and why. Start there and let them introduce you to other entities. Remember that bad things (or merely mischievous things) will lie to you. Don’t assume it’s Elvis just because he says so. Take some time. Be polite. An excellent place to start is to try to contact a spirit guide that is already connected to one of the participants. You may have one and not even know it. The point is that you want to connect with something that has your interests at heart. Starting there will save you a lot of trouble down the road.
Take notes. Keep some kind of record of who you contact and what they tell you. It gives you something to help verify anyone that you contact. It also helps you watch for inconsistencies, which can be a sign of something that’s messing with you.
Clean up when you’re finished. Just like after a big party you may need to wander through the place and make sure that everyone has actually gone home, you need to close things out after a session like this. Thank everyone who talked to you and ask them to depart until you invite them again. Do a closing prayer, or open the circle or whatever makes sense for your path. Just don’t leave things hanging.
There’s no way that this little list of ideas could cover all the possibilities when working with these tools. Hopefully, though, I’ve got you thinking. If you have questions, ask them. In the mean time, I’m going to see which of these glasses seems to like my Fuld board.
While some of you might think that someone who goes by the title of “Authentic Texas Mojo Man” might be squatting in a hut somewhere, shunning any connection with technology and eating anything unlucky enough to crawl within my grasp, the truth is that I’m fairly wired for a wizard. Technology helps me keep up with others in the world and I benefit from it a lot. I also make sure that I know where the off switch is for everything! This week I’m going to be turning off a lot of my technology while I surround myself with the love and company of family and friends in the traditional Thanksgiving holiday as celebrated in the United States.
OK, folks. It’s started. We broke the cheap champagne to open the private show room at the Museum of the Weird. For all of you who came by to watch the Zombie Movies with us last weekend, I hope that nothing followed you home. Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
