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Lest you think that I am against all fun games played by girls at pre-pubesent sleep over parties, I am not. It's because I attended - and hosted - more than my fair share of them.
Growing up, we baked cup cakes and brownies from mixes, ordered Kentucky Fried Chicken before in was called "KFC" or "Chicken Delight" same thing. Listened to AM radio, played records, did each others nails, told ghost stories, called boys we liked and hung up (no caller ID) consumed insane amounts of diet soda - to counter act all of that crap we ate, used the Ouija board (most of you know how I feel about that) and played "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board". Once I was the one levitated. four other people remember it.
My daughter and her friends played similar things - with different technology. No Ouija board, that I know of. However, one night, when she was abound 11, I heard a familiar chant coming from her bedroom "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board". It gave me chills.
Recently, I think their have been some horror movies about this game. I have not seen them, but this evening, I did come across this -
If you are open to the supernatural, I'd love to hear your thoughts. If not, I can predict them. So no need to poke fun... Yawn.
Wikipedia states: "Levitation or transvection in the paranormal context is the rising of a human body and other objects into the air by mystical means or meditation. Some parapsychology and religious believers interpret alleged instances of levitation as the result of supernatural action of psychic power or spiritual energy. The scientific community states there is no evidence that levitation exists and alleged levitation events are explainable by natural causes (such as magic trickery, illusion, and hallucination)." That quote is from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levitation_(paranormal)
So, if you have scientific proof I am sure that there are scientist that would love to see it and talk to you.
The game's been around since at least Samuel Pepys' time (1633-1703); in his diary he writes a friend of his watched four girls in France levitating a boy in this manner; they chanted while doing so:
Here is a dead body
Stiff as a stick,
Cold as marble
Light as a spirit,
Lift yourself, in the name of Jesus Christ!
The game is this, as I remember it. Takes 5 kids. One kid sits in a chair, normally. The other four take their positions, one at each shoulder and one at each knee. The four clasps their hands — not to each other, but like in prayer fingers interlaced, and extend the pointer fingers together. Insert the pointer fingers under the armpits and knees and try to lift. Can’t do it.
But one of the kids repeats light as a feather, stiff as a board like 5 times — we used to put our hands together one on top the others and go in circles over the seated kid’s head, and then stick our fingers under the appendages and lift.
Because we are saying stiff as a board, the kid naturally stiffens, it’s like an unconscious order, which makes it far easier to pick him up because all the parts are working together.
When you don’t understand the physics behind it it feels like a miracle. It’s more a carny trick.
Look at professional wrestling. You don’t think one guys throws the other guy around because he’s stronger — he throws the other guy around because the other guy lets him, helps him. A good wrestler learns how to help the other guy, without it looking like he’s helping the other guy.
Contents
In Religious Traditions
Shamanism
Voodoo
Hinduism
Buddhism and Taoism
Christianity
Islam
Spiritualism
Demon Possession
Non-Paranormal Explanations
Supernatural Intervention vs. (Human) Psychokinesis
References
Some Christian writers concur with parapsychologists in considering psychokinesis, including levitation, to be a natural human ability.37
A typical 10 year old weighs 70 pounds. If four friends lift her with both index fingers, that's 70/8 = 8.75 pounds per finger. With five lifters, that's 70/10 = 7 pounds per finger. You need at least four people to keep the weight distributed to each finger manageable. I just did these calculations with the power of my mind -- no spirits involved.
That might be the case, but this thread is specifically about levitation in the child's game light as a feather.
Children love to repeat words and phrases. "Light as a feather, Stiff as a Board" is that kind of 'cute' phrase that would get their attention. It is also a phrase that would drive parents nuts - which is another part of this 'game'. Sometimes they do repeat phrases and words to become more familiar with them, sometimes they do this to drive parents nuts and sometimes they do this for attention. It is easy to see how something like this started. It is harder to understand why some adults turned this into a belief without questioning.
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So no need to poke fun... Yawn.
Solly says — Be nice!
