An Interview with Evp/Itc Researcher Rob Smith
Interview with EVP/ITC Researcher Rob Smith
May 2008
Annette: Rob thanks so much for making some time for me. I have heard glowing things about your research and your website is so thoughtful and interesting. I’d like to start off by asking about your background and also would like you to tell me how you got started in paranormal research and where that journey has led you.
Rob: I am the eldest of two boys incarnated in the UK in 1947 (not sure if for the first time!) to an American father and English mother, and I spent my formative teenage years in London. I grew up as a nominal Anglican or “C of E”Christian (Christmas and Easter attendances), although religion and adolescent expression seemed very much at ‘loggerheads’ with one another during my teen years.
My teenage life experiences far outweighed any ideology in those exciting formative days of attending Rolling Stone concerts and traveling around the countryside with my best mate, David, as an eager pillion passenger on his BSA Bantam motorcycle. (David has now passed into spirit and has sent messages to me regarding our various adventurous escapades on two wheels!)
After arriving in Australia as an 18 year old in 1966, I commenced work as a Junior research technician with a large Melbourne hospital and learned many complex surgical procedures and medical insights until I felt ‘called’ to follow another path within the Presbyterian Church (now the Uniting Church). I was ordained a Minister Of The Word in 1984 after completing a Bachelor of Theology degree at Melbourne University in 1983 and served in two country Parishes and one city Parish. I also spent time as an Associate Chaplain in a large Public School in Adelaide, South Australia.
My main area of interest was developing meditation courses and facilitating personal development courses based on M Scott Peck’s, “The Road Less Traveled”.
After a marriage separation in 1992, I left the Church and became a full time Funeral Celebrant as well as working for Foxtel Pay TV providing technical expertise to customers for some 11 years. It was during 2003 (when my partner was diagnosed with breast cancer – now in remission ) that I experienced my first ‘profoundly moving’ paranormal experience.
Up to this point I thought the ‘dead’ were only ‘alive’ in the memories of the physical and that death was simply a gateway to ‘conscious oblivion’ – how wrong I was!
Annette: Sorry to hear about your friend’s passing and your partner’s breast cancer. I have also read M. Scott Peck 
I would like you to tell us about some of your most profound paranormal experiences.
Rob: I must admit, every experience of the ‘paranormal’ has a profound affect on me – even after five years! While sitting at my PC one day, I heard a strange alien-sounding voice, “Welcome to the Crowd!…Welcome to the Crowd!” I sat stunned by absolute disbelief that a ‘voice’ could actually resonate through my computer. And it was not just a ‘voice in my head’ which may have suggested a trip to the local psychiatrist, but an ‘objective’ voice that others could verify for themselves.
Needing to explore this phenomena for the sake of my sanity, I discovered, by accident, a whole new world of ITC and EVP and was comforted by the fact that many others internationally had experienced this strange audible phenomenon for over 70 years, commencing with reel-to-reel tape recorders. (See www.aaevp.com).
My current understanding after 5 years of recording EVP is that it is the “ability of discarnate and incarnate communicators to work together to remodulate thought processes into audible speech patterns that can be electronically recorded and objectively scrutinized ”
I had always been open-minded to new possibilities – but this ‘event’ in my life really stretched every sinew of rationality that I possessed! It was at the closing of 2003 that I began to record ‘familial’ messages from my deceased Mother (Hello Robert!), my maternal Grandfather (Hard Luck, I say, Robert – referring to my partner’s illness) and my maternal Grandmother (Accept things Rob!).
Not only did the messages address me personally (’Robert’ and ‘Rob’)- but the voices I heard in EXACTLY in the same timbre and tone as the physical voices that I so fondly remembered. “Hard Luck, I say Robert!” was my grandfather’s way of empathizing with me in his usual Victorian manner.
I have now recorded many hundreds of voices since 2003, but have not been able to further record my family members again, although I have received/passed on messages to them through the assistance of other ethereal helpers.
I was educated in the process of capturing EVP communication to try other electronic mediums at my disposal, namely digital cameras, and have been fortunate to capture the visual presence of ‘ethereal beings’ through photographing ‘orbs’, ‘apparitions’ and ‘angelic beings’
At another time, I received an EVP message requesting me to photograph a ‘turned-off’ TV next to my computer. Following this seemingly irrational request, I held the camera about two feet from the blank screen and took a digital photo without flash. To my utter amazement upon reviewing the photo, I noticed the image of a large black labrador, a childhood pet called ‘Mac’, who had died tragically on a highway when I was about eight years of age. He still had the piece of rope around his neck I had used to walk him to the highway that day! I believe Mac’s presence was made known to me in order to alleviate a lot of guilt I had been carrying over his demise for many years.
So much for placing faith in one’s rationality!
Annette: Your dog story is very touching. I had to cry a little bit about that 
I would like you to explain your understanding of the underlying energy of all things and how energy and frequency relate to the paranormal? I like how you explained it on your website.
Rob: EVP has confirmed to me that our human actions in this life will always speak louder than our words and that our ‘life in spirit’ is seldom influenced positively by religious dogma nor inherited beliefs – it is far more shaped and honed by loving action. As a matter of fact, our beliefs may well inhibit our spiritual growth and vibrational opportunities in the next realm.
Energy and vibration will play a key role in our spiritual evolution and listed below are some speculations formed from my EVP research. I am in agreement with the findings of Tom Butler of AAEVP found below in the Survival Hypothesis explained by Tom Butler.
(This article is part of the presentation given at the Academy of Spirituality and Paranormal Studies 2007 conference.It was also published in the Summer 2007AA-EVP NewsJournal)
“The study of life after death is described by the Survival Hypothesis, which is intended to order the evidence into a cosmology and resulting predictions which can be experimentally tested. By examining the accumulating evidence, it is becoming clearer that the Hypothesis is largely testable, and that it is substantially proven by the existing evidence. What remains is the need for more research to further evaluate the available evidence and to explore the implications of the Hypothesis. Since my field is Instrumental TransCommunication (ITC) which includes Electronic Voice Phenomena (EVP), I will focus on the objective data these phenomena provide. When examined along with data from other forms of trans-etheric influences, ITC can tell us a great deal about the nature of reality. As you read this hypothesis, you will see that we consider ITC as a set of energy-dependent phenomena. Energy repeatedly appears as a limiting factor, and so, the hypothesis is defined from that perspective. The term, “etheric” is used in this document to describe all that is not physical.”
There is a greater reality of which the physical universe is an aspect. Etheric energy appears to be governed by rules that are most responsive to the influence of intent. A fundamental notion of metaphysics is that we create our own reality. The process for that creation is turning attention to an imagined result with the intention that it will be so. Thus, the ability to create is a function of the person’s ability to imagine, hold attention and express intention. According to the Hypothesis, energy is more responsive to intention in the etheric than it is in the physical.
Physical energy is a differentiated form of etheric energy. Virtually all of the evidence indicates that the personality of a person (referred to here as “Self”) is native to etheric reality, and is only in the physical as a visitor. Also, there is a difference in character between the energy forming Self and energy forming the physical body. Consequently, the Hypothesis postulates that energy here is derived from energy there. There is an interface between the physical and etheric that requires a change in energy to cross.
The relationship of an ocean to the atmosphere is a good illustration for this point. There is a substantial change in the characteristic of the environment as one moves from the air (etheric) into water (physical). Also, for a person (Self) to inhabit the water for an extended time, it is necessary to be in a dive suit (the physical body).
Spatial relationships in the etheric may be more akin to fractal geometry than to Cartesian space. The notions of “up-down,” “finer-coarser,” are useful for conversation but not accurate for describing spatial relationships in etheric reality. The better view might be movement by changing perspective or attitude. Consequently, linear measuring devices may be useless for mapping etheric space. Instead, world view and ability to manage energy to determine location may need to be considered.
The character of the energy forming reality appears to change over a continuum as:
Physical (Physical energy: Electromagnetic energy; electricity.)
Subtle energy: Vitality; auric; biofield; contact field. The intent is to describe the subtle energy required for physical manifestations of etheric influences. The Hypothesis holds that the influence must be supported by energy that is compatible with the physical. Experimental evidence supports the existence of this energy, too but it is unclear as to how it relates to the assumed physical-toetheric interface.
-AND-
Etheric (Near-locale: Residual energy hauntings; apparently stuck entities; outof-body experiencers.)
A range of “heavens” or venues for experience: Consider the model of quantum levels in physics, in which each quantum is distinguished by a naturally stable but energetically different state. The physical universe would be our local quantum level and there would be another stable level with different energy characteristics.
We know that the ITC communicators see themselves in a place of local heavens, which are dependent on the expectations of the newly-transitioned person. Rather than levels, something like fractal attractors may be more correct.
Inaccessible for etheric-to-physical influence: Some people never make contact via mediumship or ITC. Also, there are accounts of a person having to “go on,” and soon thereafter no longer making contact. The person is the channel through which etheric-to-physical influences are enabled.
World view tends to filter experiences. ITC contacts tend to be consistent with the expectations of the experiencer. A characteristic of EVP is that they are in a language the experimenter or an interested observer understands. A concern for the safety of “spirit contact” can sometimes produce fearful results, confirming the reason for that concern. A Prayer of Protection’ already presupposes a fear that is fueled by vulnerability!
Influences are energy-limited and in accordance with the ability of the person to “gather” the energy is a factor for what is experienced. The ability to manage subtle energy can be developed but some people naturally excel at it. Energy appears to “stick” and remain over time. Experiences may be influenced by environment. A physical medium sometimes sits in a cabinet to contain the energy. The indication is that haunted locations are haunted because the energy required for the haunting activity is available due to long-time human occupancy and/or the extreme expression of strong emotions.
We have recorded EVP in supposedly haunted places that were clearly initiated by our usual etheric contacts. Also, psychometry depends on residual, subtle energy. Physical time and distance do not influence results.
In the 4Cell EVP Demonstrations (AAEVP), the Communicating Entity is required to receive a request from the Sender in one part of the world, and deliver the message to the Receiver in another part of the world. This is done without apparent time or distance constraints. Etheric-to-physical influences are initiated by intelligence outside of the experiencer.
The Self has an etheric aspect, which is its “true” nature. This, and the existence of an etheric aspect of reality, are the fundamental concepts of the Hypothesis. A Self is born into the physical and returns to the etheric when the physical body dies. In this hypothesis, the “arrow of creation” points from the etheric to the physical. The etheric communicators in EVP and mediumship usually do not have a physical body, and therefore depend on people in the flesh to enable etheric-to physical influences.
Self’s point of view shifts from the physical body to its etheric aspect when the physical body dies, or during sleep. A change in point of view is probably the best way to describe death. There have been successful experiments in which EVP have clearly been initiated by a sleeping person, which offers further evidence that Self is independent of the physical body, except for the purpose of being in the physical.
The “survived” Self is able to remain energetically close to the physical for a time, but eventually moves to an aspect of reality energetically “out of range” for contact. This is probably a corollary of the concept above concerning the different characteristics of energy. An entity must be energetically in agreement with the aspect of reality it will inhabit. It is not clear how “agreement” is achieved, but it apparently depends on Self’s ability to manage energy, and that seems to be a function of how well Self understands the natural processes controlling that energy.
Discarnate entities cannot exist in the physical nor independently cause an influence in the physical.
Cooperation/Availability of an incarnate Self is required for trans-etheric influence.
Lessons Learned:
Groups of entities work together to influence the physical.
The Big Circle is a group of friends and family members now on the other side who help people with EVP, grief and presumably daily living. Channeled entities often describe themselves as a group entity. We have learned to behave as if a group of unseen friends are helping us. The EVP, “Big Circle,” recorded by Martha Copeland illustrates the reason for this. In it, her daughter Cathy is clearly heard saying “Big Circle” just as Martha asks for help with her father’s operation.
No evidence of anything “demonic,” but plenty of people behaving badly.
We sometimes find Self with an evil state of mind, but there is no evidence of anything like a demon. Rather than concluding there is demonic activity, look at whether or not an experiencer has the expectation of evil and is capable of a psychosomatic response. People “allow” energy with characteristics that fulfill their expectations to come to them via etheric-to-physical influences. It is apparently possible to be “stuck” in the near locale for such reasons as fear of judgment, religious understanding and/or personal expectations. What we do and think matters, and determines how we do on the other side. For instance, the belief that suicide is a sin appears to be a local custom, but a fear of judgment because the person committed suicide is sometimes the reason for an earthbound entity.
It is important to teach people what to realistically expect upon transition.
Near-Death experiencers also report a life review from the perspective of those we influence. The evidence seems to suggest that the life review is our judgment, and that we are the judges.”
Annette: Wayne Dyer likes to say that we are spiritual beings having a physical experience and that is something I have come to believe wholeheartedly. I find it interesting what you are saying about people creating their own experiences after death by the belief systems and also the energy created around themselves during this life. It’s kind of like the other side’s version of THE SECRET. It applies in this world as well as the next. I would like to talk about the purpose and focus of your research and what you have learned about life and death.
Rob: What I can confirm as evidential after assessing about 3000 EVP recordings over the last 5 years are the following SEVEN empirically-replicated observations:
1. EVP voices are more often than not verifiable by others (Class A) – so go beyond subjective interpretation.
2. EVP voices are often personally directed to me – and use my first name, ‘Rob’ or “Robert!” in response to a comment or question.
3. EVP voices are more often than not ’stand alone’ comments specific to an actual physical event or situation i.e. “We see you’ve gone to bed!” or “We haven’t got a bar code!” comment recorded as I was checking my groceries through a checkout.
4. EVP voices can be manipulated by spirit after the initial recording consequently changing the intention/direction of the comment i.e. sending email attachments to another party can sometimes change the focus of the message.
5. EVP voices consist of male/female/androgynous (gender neutral) and ‘alien’ sounding voices.
6. EVP voice ‘clarity of capture’ is often determined by the available noise source and I have found that a broad amalgam of ‘background human chatter’ or radio sweep can provide clearer entity speech capture. (This method requires less spirit manipulation to form human words but fastidious assessment is required to determine whether these captures are phenomenal or not.)
7. EVP voices can be both multi-layered (concurrent messages at different frequencies) and some recordings can have ‘reversible coherency’ – in other words – all available bandwidth – both forward/reverse – can be utilized by the discarnate energy source.
When processing over 3000 recordings, I discovered that some discarnate recordings are seeking ‘insight assistance’ or, in other words , seeking to understand their current discarnate predicament i.e. “What has happened to me?” “Where am I” “Can you help me understand my predicament?” Some appear to be consciously confused, disorientated and unsure of their status.
That is why my focus today is more directed towards utilizing EVP as a medium to assist in the ‘moving on’ of discarnates rather than upon the ‘technical development of EVP’ which is currently in the capable hands of many researchers around the globe.
Annette: So you are focusing on spirit rescue. You have actually evolved from being a Pastor to the living to being guidance to the dead. You’re still in the saving souls business I also would like to know why you think the spirit world contacts us and what if anything we can do to help them.
Rob: My understanding is that the Spirit world interacts with us for TWO main reasons. Firstly, to assure us that although our loved ones may be ‘out of sight’ they are contactable and continue to grow and evolve and,
Secondly, we have access to a ‘modus operandi’ for our physical sojourn that will hopefully enable a better life and better transition after our physical demise. Learning to be lovingly supportive of others while maintaining a positive,open and affirmative mindset, in spite of our human trials and tribulations, will prepare us admirably for our transition into spirit.
The more I come across ’stuck souls’, the more I realize that our eternal fate is very much in our own hands!! I would really encourage all those people involved in ‘Ghost Hunting’ to be more empathetic with the confused souls they often come across, as confusion beyond death seems to be a major stumbling block for those souls who have had to deal with the ‘double whammy’ of a violent or sudden death- and also mindset ‘belief’ blockage, especially many of those ‘deceased’ people controlled by ‘religious control’ before the rise of ‘free thinking’ intellectualism.
We need to show absolute respect for the departed which will assist in their transition rather than hinder it.
I thank you for the opportunity to share my views with you and personally invite
you to forward your comments to me by email robevpau1@optusnet.com.au and/or visit my website: EVP-ITC-Australia.org
Annette: Thanks so much Rob. I believe your research and explanations will be not only an inspiration to many, but a comfort as well.
I’m happy to report that Rob has asked me to do the artwork for his book WHISPERS OF IMMORTALITY. (Please note title change) I am sure that will be a fun project for me as well as an interesting read for us all from a very intelligent and thoughtful man.
From the makers of THE SECRET
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Tags: Annette Munnich, Evp/Itc, ghosts paranormal, Paranormal Python, Rob Smith
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