Difference Between Paranormal Enthusiast, Paranormal Researcher, Paranormal Investigator, and Practitioner
If you are active in Social Media, you will likely come across a lot of web spaces such as our page PARANORMAL PHILIPPINES where individuals converge and meet to share and exchange information about the esoteric, the occult, and the unexplained.
In these groups, avid readers are likely to come across discussions where people have personally identified themselves to be one of these personalities: Paranormal Enthusiast, Paranormal Researcher, Paranormal Investigator, and Practitioner.
Knowing where you identify among these four is crucial because it outlines your current stance, your focus of interest, appetite for more information, and future prospects.
So, what is a PARANORMAL ENTHUSIAST, PARANORMAL RESEARCHER, PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR, AND PRACTITIONER?
Before I delve into this conversation, allow me to say that these definitions are subjective to my own opinion. Also, these definitions are not fixed and they are subject to modifications over time. They are admittedly shortsighted because there is really no fixed nomenclature to label individuals based on their field of interest.
I classify four types of individuals socializing in paranormal Facebook groups because the information helps us in the admin core to defining the tone of language to use as well as the extent of information to share.
Not all knowledge is surplus. Exchange of information depends on the person’s level of competency and initiation towards transpersonal experiences.
Back to the definition…
When we say PARANORMAL ENTHUSIAST, we refer to a person who is interested, specifically, who has recently become interested about the paranormal, who actively joins message forums, and who is interested in knowing more about one’s latent gifts and abilities such as the popular “THIRD EYE”. We call these passionate individuals ENTHUSIAST because of their budding devotion to learning more about our common subject of interest. They are people whose knowledge about the paranormal is considerable BUT learning is AN END IN ITSELF. They might apply their knowledge to their lives but one day, their activities will cease. There is no formal avenue that would allow their knowledge to grow.
When a person’s interest grows to the extent that the individual has already grown in wisdom and knowledge about the unknown, about life and the transpersonal world; if this person develops an appetite for information, if this person's happiness lies in deep knowing about the esoteric, the occult, and the unexplained, if he/she keeps a library of reliable resources in print and media, if the individual feels boundless hunger and PASSION to learn and formalize/professionalize learning/training for scholastic purposes the individual is a PARANORMAL RESEARCHER.
A Paranormal Researcher is often interchanged with the persona of PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR. A person can be a Paranormal Researcher but not a PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR. But an individual can be BOTH a Paranormal Researcher AND a Paranormal Investigator at the same time. The difference lies in orientation.
If the person uses one’s knowledge and courage to engage in adventures to solve mysteries, define explanations, clarify/debunk and make sense of paranormal phenomenon using tools and evidence-based conceptual frameworks, this individual is a PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR.
While being a PARANORMAL RESEARCHER or a PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR are two of the most common self tags, A person cannot be SELF PROFESSED. Just as a person cannot call himself a “Doctor” or a “Professional Teacher”, The term PARANORMAL RESEARCHER and PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR are titles describing EDUCATED, TRAINED, AND SKILLED individuals who helps verify the truth behind the unexplained. This means that the labels are a result of being Recognized, not embraced.
The fourth type of individual socializing in Social media is the PRACTITIONER. As the name implies, Practitioners are individuals trained and knowledgeable about the spiritual, esoteric, the occult, and the unexplained WHO FOLLOW A SPECIFIC PHILOSOPHICAL OR SPIRITUAL PATH. Practitioners are those who follow the Old Ways (Modern Pagans such as Witches), LNK Practitioners, Shamanic Practitioners, and so on.
These individuals are branded by varying degrees of knowledge, experience, initiation, and skill when it comes to the esoteric, the occult, and the unknown. These individuals are people who are in touch with their instinctual nature, who may live in betwixt worlds, and have dedicated their lives to spiritual growth through their chosen path.
So there you are 😊 I hope you can use this information as a point for consideration BEFORE SHARING INFORMATION as well as in defining where you are in your spiritual and intellectual journey. Take care everyone…
BLESSED BE! MIZPAH!
-Admin Gabriella
Revised April 10, 2025
PHOTO BY: Admin Chris
Comments
Post a Comment