Seeing Auras
What exactly is an aura and can you learn to see auras? The aura is the fine material body that surrounds us. According to spiritualist teachings, the aura consists of seven coloured layers connected to the seven chakras in our body. Only people who possess psychic abilities are able to perceive the aura.
And not only perceive; based on the state of the aura, they can also determine exactly how a person is doing physically and mentally. All colours have a special meaning and each aura reader interprets them in their own way.
Seeing Auras
And yes. For a long time, I too was of the opinion that I could actually see auras. When I was still a follower of the spiritualist faith, I once took a course in 'intuitive development', where students were taught to perceive auras. How happy I was when I saw my first aura and also learnt how to interpret it!
Unfortunately (or fortunately?) it all turns out to be a lot less complicated than I was led to believe at the time.
In fact, we do have an aura, but it is invisible because the aura consists only of heat and a slightly static energy. This is because our bodies constantly radiate heat to the environment. Heat that consists of energy produced by our 'internal factory' that works day and night.
The heart, intestines, brain and respiratory organs provide about 100 Watt of energy (comparable to the warmth of half a candle flame) that radiates via our body to the environment, without us consciously doing anything about it. This heat radiation is our aura. Nothing more, nothing less.
Afterimages
Therefore, there are no colours, shapes, chinks, leaks, holes or other hidden flaws in the aura that betray how you are in your skin. After all, static heat cannot be detected by anyone with the naked eye. Unless you are a snake with specially developed eyesight to detect prey from a great distance....
Although the aura is not perceptible to anyone in the human population, I do understand that some people think they can actually see auras. In fact, it is quite possible to look at someone in a certain way so that it seems you can actually see their aura!
When you stare at someone's face for a long time and look past it lightly from time to time, if the background is light or dark softly lit, you will eventually see an afterimage appear, making it seem as if this colour is hanging around the person's head. This is caused by the fact that our eyes are constantly moving.
Even when we try to stare at an object or person as tightly and as silently as possible, our eyes keep moving at about fifty vibrations per second (!) In this way, we perceive all possible images in our environment.
This also creates the afterimages of everything we observe in a short time. The speed at which our eyes move make the afterimages larger than the object or person we are looking at, similar to a camera moving while taking a picture. This makes it seem as if an aura fans around the example or person. In reality, it is nothing but an afterimage of what you are looking at.
The colours we see then are caused by the action of our own eyes and not by the so-called energy field that would be around us....
Migraine
When you spread your fingers against a dark or light background, you see a white-like semi-transparent haze between your fingers. I used to be taught during the intuitive development course that this is the first layer of the aura. Only now I understand that this is not the first layer of your aura, but simply the afterimage of your own spread fingers that you are looking at at that moment.
You can do a similar experiment yourself by having someone sit or stand in front of a white background (door or wall) and then look at them from a distance. If you look half at the person and half past them at the white background, you will first see a white border appear around the person's head and, if you look the right way, a larger (coloured) sphere joins it.
These colours are called auras by psychics, but we see these colours through the workings of our own eyes and have nothing to do with a certain radiation around the subject.
This theory is confirmed by the fact that people with (eye) migraine, where some kind of temporary disturbance occurs in the brain, also often see afterimages and/or auras around objects and people. Or even complete glare where it is almost impossible to see normally.
Investigations
A scientific study on the aura took place in 1978. During this study, a group of students were asked to view slides showing only silhouettes.
After the camera lens was rotated and thus set to out of focus (to mimic 'looking past it'), almost all students saw an aura appear around the silhouettes on the screen.
According to those who claim to be able to see auras with the naked eye, the colours around us radiate considerably. This means that when someone stands around a corner, the aura should be visible beyond the corner. So someone who can see auras should theoretically be able to know (see) that someone is standing behind a wall. Because the aura should then be beyond the wall.
Research conducted by two Icelandic parapsychologists in 1997 showed that those who claimed to be able to see auras performed no better than those who could not perceive them. Which showed that both the non-aura sighters and the well-aura sighters were guessing whether or not someone was present behind the wall.
Also striking is the fact that auras disappear when you blink or walk towards the person whose aura you perceive. If the aura were really visible as colours and/or light, it should remain visible even after blinking the eyes and when approaching the person in question.
Aura photos
At paranormal fairs, you can almost always find a stand where you can have an aura photo taken for a fee. Those who want to be portrayed must sit against a black background and place their fingers on two boxes with contact plates. These contain sensors that are said to scan the electromagnetic field at certain acupuncture points.
On a tripod is a large box containing the camera. The device is connected to the sensors via cords. It produces a Polaroid picture of the client's upper body. Around his/her head, a colour wreath is visible, which can be interpreted by the photographer. For instance, one can deduce from the colour of the throat chakra the way a person communicates. A blue colour in this area can indicate a somewhat introverted and reserved attitude. For smooth chatterers, the area is more likely to be red, orange or yellow.
The aura photograph is actually a double shot. First, an ordinary photograph of the client is taken and then the aura is photographed over it. The blurred colours are caused by a wreath of tiny light-emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted in front of the lens. These lights illuminate the area that was still black.
In some devices, they use a coloured LCD screen and in the most advanced ones, the photo is digitally processed. In all cases, the aura field is artificially created. The colours generated depend on the skin resistance measured in the electrical circuit. If your hands have become a bit sweaty or you press harder on the contact plates, a second aura photo will give a very different picture.
Source: http://www.skepsis.nl/aura.html
Aura reading
Of course, everyone's picture shows different colours, otherwise it would not be believable. After all, not everyone has the same 'aura'. After photographing, you can have the colours of the aura interpreted by an aura reader.
Typically, it involves claims that could apply to a lot of people and you always recognise some of the information in yourself. It is precisely that part you remember - after all, you can't do anything with the rest - which makes it seem like a very good reading.
Some aura readers do not stick so much to the standard explanation of the colours, but also look very closely at the person themselves during their analysis and read their clients based on their people skills. These are usually the better readings. Nevertheless, the information is given based on human intuition and not paranormal.
Interesting side note: Every aura reader interprets the colours differently, which is strange to say the least. With doctors, certain symptoms indicate a certain ailment, they have been taught this, there are clear guidelines.
It would be a mess anyway if every doctor interpreted certain symptoms according to his or her preference. With aura readers, it all doesn't listen so closely. For some, the colour red stands for anger, for others for love.
Want to put it to the test yourself?
Supplies:
- a test subject
- a white background
- a black background
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