The Greatest Accomplishments Have Humble Beginnings

One of my proudest accomplishments to date was for something that I did for the Committee for Scientific Inquiry and the Skeptical Briefs newsletter. I was asked to write some articles special for the subscribers to the Skeptical Inquirer Magazine. For my first article, I decided to investigate the subject of Native American Thunderbirds. 

I was proud of the work and how the piece came out, it was more exciting to see the finished product amongst other skeptics that I hold in high regards such as Sharon Hill of the Doubtful News website and one of the most prolific scientific paranormal investigators, Joe Nickell. I would print out copies to hand out to my friends and family. However, for this particular subject I got much more involved. For instance, I did not just include pictures for the sake of including them. I went out and around the city, even visiting a museum, to capture the Native American influences specifically depicting Thunderbirds.

Like most with most scientific investigations, I ended up spending most of the time in the library. I remember being excited to see that first issue come in the mail. It wasn't until months later that I received an e-mail from my then editor, scientific paranormal investigator extraordinaire Benjamin Radford, asking me if he could reference my article in his new book. I was floored. 

Somewhere down the line, I moved, got away from writing for a while and just when I forgot about the article, my Mom called me with the news that she had gotten the book, Mysterious New Mexico: Miracles, Magic, and Monsters In the Land of Enchantment. It meant more to me that she got to see it before I did. Once I got that copy in my hand, I found and flipped it to Chapter 7 Thunderbirds: Mysterious Giants in the Sky to find my name amongst the list of references. 

I guess there was never a feeling of real accomplishment until that moment. You don't really know if people are actually reading what you write. But, once someone contacts me or something like this happens, it makes it all seem like it was a successful endeavor. That was probably one of my most proudest accomplishments to date. It is weird to see my name in the work cited page of a published book, and at the same time, I always knew I would be in a book someday. Perhaps, I will write my own book next!

If you would like to read the Thunderbird article, click here.

Image from: http://benjaminradford.com/books-by-ben-radford/mysterious-new-mexico-miracles-magic-and-monsters-in-the-land-of-enchantment/an-excerpt-from-mysterious-new-mexico/

Navajo Skinwalkers

"There is little documented information about the details of “witchcraft” among the Navajo—or Diné, as they call themselves. What is relatively well known is their term “Skinwalker,” or “yee naaldlooshii,” which means, “with it, he goes on all fours.” This is a reference to the special ability to transform into a four-legged animal. While there are many self-published books and websites that offer some insight into this world of Navajo witchcraft, much of the information is obscure and does not provide any sort of real account for how these stories and their details came into being." (Nez 2012)

I have written a few articles for the Skeptical Briefs ranging in subjects from cryptozoology (the study of hidden animals) to witchcraft. I try to offer a more critical look that is often not found as another resource for those interested in putting together a more accurate representation of what the evidence suggests and what Native American beliefs actually depict. The excerpt presented above was based from the full article that originally appeared in Volume 22.1 of the Skeptical Briefs 2012 spring edition, which is now available over on the CSI website simply titled, Skinwalkers.


Not only does CSI offer a network of people interested in seeing paranormal investigations (or anything considered to be "fringe" ) using science appropriately, but it also publishes an official journal, Skeptical Inquirer magazine. The list of founding members of CSI includes some rather well known scientists, academics, and science writers such as Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Philip Klass, Paul Kurtz, Ray Hyman, James Randi, and Martin Gardner. If you needed another reason to join, CSI also offers the Skeptical Briefs, a special newsletter with articles featuring regular columnists and different skeptical groups from around the world, exclusively to its' *Associate Members. Those at CSI have graciously made some past articles available online, not just from the Skeptical Inquirer magazine, but the Skeptical Briefs newsletter as well! 

Sharing Native American Culture and Offering a Unique Brand of Skepticism

Recently, I was privileged with an opportunity to share some insight into Native American culture and offer a unique brand of skepticism to the associate members of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), a nonprofit scientific educational organization. 

 

 

Not only does CSI offer a network of people interested in seeing paranormal investigations (or anything considered to be "fringe" ) using science appropriately, but it also publishes an official journal, Skeptical Inquirer magazine. The list of founding members of CSI includes some rather well known scientists, academics, and science writers such as Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, Philip Klass, Paul Kurtz, Ray Hyman, James Randi, and Martin Gardner. If you needed another reason to join, CSI also offers the Skeptical Briefs, a special newsletter with articles featuring regular columnists and different skeptical groups from around the world, exclusively to its' *Associate Members.  

 

I have written a few articles for the Skeptical Briefs ranging in subjects from cryptozoology (the study of hidden animals) to witchcraft. I try to offer a more critical look that is often not found as another resource for those interested in putting together a more accurate representation of what Native American beliefs actually depict. Some topics covered include; Navajo Skinwalkers, Native American Legends, and the New Age Mysticism that shows up around Native American Spirituality.  

 

Those at CSI have graciously made some past articles available online, not just from the Skeptical Inquirer magazine, but the Skeptical Briefs newsletter as well! So, for those of you who are not Associate Members of CSI and have not been able to read any of my past articles, here is your chance to check one of them out, Thunderbirds.  

 

  

*How to become an Associate member of the Committee for Scientific Inquiry