New  year Greetings !
Prayer for the individual or the team investigating or researching the case is necessarily important before or after the investigation and time to time during the research as my belief and experiences says. I have witnessed several cases since my childhood in my family. They were  attacked by spirits. At present they are living their life happily. My family believes in prayer. I was unaware of the fact that there is any institute which believes in spirits or seriously works for paranormal field until I heard about the death of G. Tiwari. I am pursuing my masters in psychology. I want to pursue my doctoral degree in this field and help the mankind. Please guide me. Thank you.

Thank you, Julie, for you input on this question. Although this thread stretches back eight years it's still a topic of discussion among teams as well as the individuals within them. For some, like yourself, this is a necessary aspect of investigating ghostly situations. For others, the act serves as an extension of their belief systems and creates a bit of circular logic. In others words, if one prays for protection then they see it as the fear of being followed, hurt, possessed, or what have you is truly real. If they don't pray or don't believe in protection then there is nothing to fear since this will not affect them.

It honestly doesn't matter what you do prior to an investigation, the important thing is to not be fearful or allow your beliefs/fears/expectations to dictate your actions, reactions, or emotions during an investigation. If you truly believe you can be followed home or injured it can truly make things difficult in your life outside of investigations. The best bet is to know you are truly in control no matter what is said or not said before heading out.

It's very important to pray before and after an investigation. You never know what you're going to encounter. It's vital to protect yourself and your team. There are things that are in this world that we don't understand yet. As investigators we understand the risks and dangers we could face. So with that protect yourselves in connection with your higher power.

I received an email today (Monday,July 11, 2016) inquiring about my thoughts on Gaurav's death. They included a link to a news story as well. The link is further below.

My response to this news story is that it cannot be deemed as reliable. It first says that Gaurav was found dead, then it says he was found unconscious.

It also said that Gaurav told his wife that a “negative force was pulling him towards it.” This is completely inconsistent with Gaurav’s belief that spirits cannot harm people, which is absolutely correct—they cannot harm people.

To suggest that Gaurav committed suicide completely contradicts his character. He had everything going for him. He was just married a few months ago. His nature was to go out and happen to life. He was driven to accomplish new things and experience life in new ways. It is very unlikely that he was depressed.

Lastly, anyone suggesting that he killed himself is dishonoring who he was and what he accomplished.

I would be interested to hear what the medical examiner concluded regarding his untimely death.

With the above in mind, I hope others will honor Gaurav by not participating in spreading hearsay and unreliable reports regarding the manner of his death.

Dr. Doug Kelley

Link to news story: http://zeenews.india.com/news/india/famous-paranormal-investigator-gaurav-tiwari-found-dead_1905733.html

Hi Members and Guests,
It is with a sad heart that I report on the passing of Gaurav Tiwari on July 7, 2016. He was 31 years old. The specific details as to what happened are not yet available. I will update this message once that information becomes available.

Gaurav had been a ParaNexus member since October, 2008--nearly since the founding of ParaNexus. He was the ParaNexus Rep for India. I first met Gaurav in 2008 when he enrolled in my CPI Course. He later completed the CLPI course as well, and then enrolled in my metaphysics degree program. He completed his IMHS Bachelor's and Master's degrees, and was working on his doctoral degree.

As I got to know Gaurav years ago, I became very impressed with his drive and passion. When I met him, he was completing his commercial pilot's license, and then soon became a commercial pilot for Air India (I believe that was the airline). After what seemed like a short time (perhaps a year or two), he left that career to devote his life to the study of anomalous research.

He appeared in several television programs as well as numerous articles and publications. Many have watched him on the Haunting: Australia program. He never shied away from trying to find answers to the paranormal question. He was a grounded researcher and extremely well-known in India. He was the founder of the Indian Paranormal Society, and was ordained by ICMH Church, the parent of ParaNexus.

I wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to his family, and I wish him the best as he enters a new chapter of existence. I'm certain that we will meet again in due time.

Dr. Doug Kelley

I have never heard of this. The first episode is interesting and is obviously scripted/read and all information false, but it does discuss some interesting concepts and is excellently produced. I knew when I heard the name "Strand" that was a skeptic it had to be a pseudonym for "Randi" and laughed when I heard the million dollar challenge. It is an interesting way to get believers to listen to a balanced and rational look at these subjects. Thanks for sharing!

It will be great to be around a diversity of people to learn from and to teach. It will be an adventure and great experience for sure.

I wonder if anyone here has been listening to the podcast 'The Black Tapes'.

Although fictional, many themes in the paranormal area are discussed. It is thoroughly entertaining, a bit scary, and raises interesting questions about approaches to the paranormal from an agnostic/unbiased viewpoint (Reagan's character) to the hard bitten skeptic (Dr Strand).

Recommend you scroll down through the Episodes and listen from no.1.
http://theblacktapespodcast.com/

Sounds fascinating!

I hope it goes wonderfully well for you.

That's great, Brian! You should post this on 1PC as well.

Doug