Years ago, there was a great movie starring Robert Redford and Paul Neuman called "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". Redford and Neuman (Butch and Sundance) spent most of the movie humorously evading an eternally persistant group of lawmen, led by one who seemed to unerringly know just where to look for the two hapless outlaws. At many points in the neverending chase, the two characters would thoughtfully look at each other, perhaps after gazing back at the dust cloud on the horizon which always contained the determined lawmen, and then one of them would calmly state to the other "Who are those guys, anyway?"

I can't tell you how many times I myself have spoken those words quietly to myself as I went through the analysis and processing of Electronics Voice Phenomena (EVP). I have certainly recorded a diverse group of voices, and always found fascinating differences in the data from these EVP voices from each selected locale.

Who are those guys, anyway?........

Let me just give you the short version for now. (I think the "long" version is way too complex for a brief article such as this.)

But basically, most researchers and investigators pretty much agree that when we die, we are quickly dissasociated from our physical bodies and find ourselves in spirit form. We are aware and seemingly quite in control of ourselves, in spite of the fact that we can not be heard or seen by our loved ones on earth,(although we can see them). No doubt, this can be a rude awakening for most. Some folks who have held rigid belief systems of life and death, or those who may have not given much thought at all to spiritual things, will find that they need assistance and time to adjust to the reality of their new existance.

Most researchers, psychics, and others who have experienced out of body experiences (OBE's), and near death experiences (NDE's), say that there will be guides, friends, deceased family, etc., to assist during this time. However, it is up to the individual to open themselves to this help, and many require "spiritual time" or a "period of adjustment" to accept this concept of their new reality. Almost all agree that even the most enlightened spirits will always at least briefly visit their loved ones and even attend their own funeral, before moving on to higher levels of spiritual planes.

And there you have it......."Who are those guys?" is explained then, I believe, by the presence of a diverse group of spirits in a sort of "interim level or plane"situated in and around the earth plane. Some have recently passed on, some have been at that level for some time and find themselves in a position to be of service to others there, some are indeed lost or otherwise still confused, and then another whole unknown group of spirits with specific purpose may be found. Many of those would be defined as guides, helpers, or angels. Others may not have even lived in a body on earth. I suppose we won't know all the details until.....well, you know.

I have learned to be very careful what I say when I am seeking EVP recordings. I always announce to the spirits what my purpose is, and explain to them what I can and can't do. It is necessary to make these statements as briefly as possible. There is every indication that any reply or communication from a spirit using this method will always be brief. Most researchers think there is some energy requirement which must be adhered to, and we always find the messages to be short and to the point.

Untill I learned to be very careful about what I say in these sessions, I had the misfortune of finding that I might have mislead some of the spirits who answered me. In one case, in a cemetary I had simply asked if any spirits had any messages . Later while processing the audio, I discovered an immediate response from an entity who asked me to say hello to a certain Pastor, and also to a lady (whose first names were both given). I was horrified to think that I may have given a false promise to this spirit, as I had no chance of figuring out who these people were or giving this message to them. In several cases , spirits have cried out to me to help them. Of course, I was not able at that exact moment to even hear them, but I had neglected to explain that to them when I asked for their communication.

Now when I do an EVP session, my every word is planned and rehearsed according to the objectives and location of the session. I want to make sure I don't say something to disturb a spirit entity or mislead them. After all, I'd just as soon not upset someone and have them follow me home or something....:-)

My experiences with EVP have proven to me that beyond a doubt there is a dimensional existance beyond our life on earth. My life, my values, and beliefs have all changed for the better, as I have become more aware of this spiritual knowledge.

Later on, I'll write some articles about specific encounters with spiritual entities and voices from beyond..........Rich