The paranormal challenges us to see beyond what we know. It causes us to question our reality and our beliefs. It scares us. It confuses us. It frustrates us. It makes us doubt our sanity. It makes us feel vulnerable. However, it also compels us. It moves us. It shifts us. It illuminates us.

I had my first paranormal experience when I was in 4th grade. It was around 10 pm, my father and little sister were sleeping. My mother was outside hanging out clothes to dry when I suddenly heard, “DEBORAH!” I run outside. My mother grabs me, gets down to my level, and asks me to look to the sky. I did. At first, I brushed it off as an airplane. She made me stare longer. That’s when it hit me. It wasn’t an airplane.

We ran inside the house, out to the front porch, and there it was. A UFO.

It was hovering perfectly still in the air. Saucer shaped. Bright and colorful against the dark sky. The lights that decorated it seemed to dance. I was mesmerized. Then, I was terrified. The instant the fear set it, I ran inside and sat on the floor in the kitchen, in a corner where the wall met the fridge. I tucked my knees to my chest and began shivering with fear. I honestly thought we were going to get abducted.

Not long after, my mother ran inside to get the camcorder (this was the 90s). She fumbled with it nervously, trying to get it to work. Once she got it on, she went outside to catch the UFO on film. It was gone.

The next day, we told my father, who was an atheist. He thought we were seeing things. At school, I told my friends. They said they only believed me because my mother was there, too. That stung. I couldn’t understand why they would think I’d lie about something like this. Why would I? I didn’t even know these things could happen to me.

After that, I had a few other paranormal experiences. Once, I saw a dark shadow appear in the mirror as I was getting ready for school one morning. Another time, I was on the front porch at night with my sister and a couple of the neighborhood friends. I heard something coming from the street on our neighbors side. I looked over. That is when I saw a white figure run behind my father’s van, never to come out the other side. My younger sister gasped when the figure appeared--she saw it, too.

The problem is that I never had anyone to talk to. My mother didn’t talk about it. My father said nothing existed. And society stamped experiencers as crazy, weird, or a liars.

Only my grandmother believed me, but she did not live with us so we didn't speak often. However, she was the only one who listened and told me how to protect myself or what to do. Though, I didn't really take what she said seriously; she was considered the crazy one of the family. Looking back, she was the most connected.

Soon, I began dismissing my experiences. I put them on the back burner. I started to question if they were even real.

I grew up. I became an atheist, just like my father. I went to college. Then I went to grad school for a Ph.D. And three months before I moved to the Dominican Republic for my fieldwork, my father suddenly passed away.

But he made sure to visit when he died.

I woke up around midnight the night he passed, extremely concerned for my father. I was worried and scared--this had NEVER happened to me. But, as an atheist and non-believer, I brushed it off. I attributed the sudden and unexplainable fear to some a type of psychosomatic manifestation. I went back to sleep.

And at 2:36 am, I got a call. It was a police officer. He called to inform me that they found my father in the bathroom—he was gone.

It was in that moment that everything changed. It was the beginning of everything that led me here, with you.

I tried to finish my Ph.D but opted for my MA and decided on a more personal path toward fostering a relationship with the unknown, developing my intuition, and decoding the paranormal. On this path, I came to a realization: there is little to no support provided for experiencers who are battling their beliefs, feeling confused, scared, afraid, guilty, judged, and isolated.

Until now.

As an intuitive, I empathize, aid with spiritual understanding, and discern what is in the shadows. As a researcher, I stay informed and educate based on verifiable and credible information. As a guide, I offer personalized support for your unique experiences. As a fellow experiencer, I know how it feels to doubt yourself and be doubted by everyone else.

You are not alone.

Paranormal Paradigma is where you come to feel safe, enlightened, grounded, and empowered again.

Thank you for trusting me,

Deborah