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Next season is coming our way faster than expected.

And as long as I can remember, I have always loved having a month of “glow up” every season.

I used to do it every summer before school, in late autumn before holidays, and then – in late winter to get ready for spring (eventually – summer).

Every time I started my glow up month, it turned into a meditative time filled with beauty routines and honest, loving self-care.

It’s like a delightful way to say goodbye to summer or get ready for a busy winter, but you can do this glow up challenge at any time of the year, of course.

For those unfamiliar with the term “glow up”, here’s how the Urban Dictionary describes it:

Natural glow ups can happen through puberty years, but I think that the best glow ups happen when you fall in love!

To me, the glow-up challenge is a month that you dedicate to yourself, focusing on improving your wellness, health, looks, and mental strength to look and feel your absolute best.

Even if it’s one of the busiest months for you, it’s a perfect time to take a glow up challenge.

“Yeah… Wait, what?”

That’s right! The more work or chores you have to do, the more you need your self care.

Skip your self-care for a week or two and see what happens.

You start looking tired, the stress weight gain (or loss) begins, and you’re also on your way to burnout (which is way harder to heal from than simple everyday tiredness).

“Okay, but I don’t have time for this. I don’t have time for anything!”

This is why it’s so essential to glow up without affecting your life – and I’m going to show you how!

This glow up challenge includes activities that require a little more time, but quite a few are quick and integrate seamlessly into your everyday life.

Oh, you can do so many things that won’t take much of your busy schedule! *claps eagerly*

And guess what – if you’re super dedicated, you can have a glow up in less than 30 days – just make sure always to choose what’s good and healthy (we’ll touch this part later).

And please know that this is not only for your looks!

Feeling pretty and “put together” definitely adds a good amount of joyful mood.

I know that it’s sometimes hard to take care of yourself, especially if you feel tired, have a bad mood, lack motivation, or try to cope with anxiety or life in general.

But sometimes, doing a few caring things helps to improve these negative feelings.

Okay, back to our glow up! Are you ready?

Here’s how to have a glow up of your life – for beauty, health, and wellness.

This part of your glow up challenge is about getting healthier, more fit, and achieving a healthier physical appearance.

I will not be talking about colossal body makeovers here. Let’s be realistic – those require way more time.

If you’re committed to long-term body changes, I highly recommend you to go through my 100 Actions To Get Fit list to prep your mindset.

For a fast body glow up (just enough to get you ready, healthy, and more toned for the next season), here’s what you can do now.

I love drinking a lot of water.

Not just because it keeps you healthy and energetic, it also shows that you’ve been drinking it.

So make it your glow up step one and increase your water intake today.

If you hate plain water, add some taste with fruits, mint, or cucumber!

And if you keep forgetting to stay hydrated, here’s a small tip!

Having a pretty water bottle can help you to build a healthy habit of drinking water regularly.

It’s also a nice accessory to carry around.

Hip 22 oz. Plastic Water Bottle with Silicone Sleeve

Yomious 20 Oz Borosilicate Glass Water Bottle with Bamboo Lid

Eating more veggies and fruits is beneficial for all of us.

Also, it’s a perfect, healthy way to lose a few pounds without feeling like you’re dieting.

Here’s how to start eating more vegetables for your glow up challenge!

Eating this way will boost your metabolism, give you a natural glow, boost your hair radiance, help you to become more fit, improve circulation, and make your skin softer.

So many benefits – it is not a joke!

The right diet is your straightway to becoming prettier in no time.

Just try it and thank me later.

When I want to eat healthier, I also use this little mindset shift: imagine that every veggie, nut, or fruit you eat will make you prettier and happier.

It’s not imaginary – every healthy food gives your body nutrients necessary for your skin, nails, hair, and cognitive functions.

For example, flax seeds are especially beneficial for your mood (and can even help you to fight depression) thanks to their high amount of omega 3 acids and magnesium.

Spinach is an absolute champ veggie that has so much zinc that your skin will forget about blemishes, and your hair will look fantastic.

Avocados can give you that nice glowing skin thanks to their abundant sources of Vitamin E and C.

Other foods that will make your body “glow up” are berries, greek yogurt, lean meats, fish, seafood, various seeds, olive oil, turmeric, ginger, mushrooms, oats, honey, and various fermented foods.

Just one thing to remember – all foods have calories.

Some have more, some have less, but if you want to lose weight while you glow up, you have to make sure you are not overeating these healthy foods.

It is a myth that simply eating healthy is enough to lose weight… It doesn’t work like that unless you’re an athlete.

It usually comes down to the calories in and calories out.

Yes, there are occasions when weight loss can be hindered by hormonal imbalance or specific health problems, but generally speaking, if you consume fewer calories than your body can use up, you will lose weight.

Alternatively, if you consume more than you use up, you will gain weight, even if you’re just eating avocados and healthy energy bites.

Keep in mind that skipping meals never works, though.

If you don’t give enough calories for your body, it will easily convert even zero-calorie foods into those cute belly wrinkles.

You gotta find that golden balance of keeping your body nourished but not overnourished.

If you want to find out the number of calories you need + keep track of your daily food consumption, I recommend the MyFitnessPal app – it’s very helpful and accurate!

P. S. Avoid processed foods too – they’re chock-full of sodium and have lower nutritional value, leaving your skin, hair, nails, and everything else craving nutrients.

I know you don’t have time.

Or energy. I don’t either (yet!).

But working out is an essential part of “glowing up”.

So let’s be smart and make this work, even if you’re super busy.

Here’s how to have a non-overwhelming glow up routine for your beautiful body.

Instead of committing to a long workout once a day, commit to just a few short, 10-15 minute workouts that you can fit into your schedule whenever you have a small gap.

Try a short 15-minute workout in the morning and one in the evening.

It’s enough to make your body warm, make your heart beat faster, and it totals 30 minutes of exercising every day.

On days when I have more spare time, I incorporate even more of these quickies (“that’s what she said” – Michael S.) to reap more benefits.

This method is also excellent if you’re overweight and it’s hard for you to start with full workouts.

Doing a little bit, a few times a day will help your body to get gradually stronger and prepare you for more strenuous workouts later.

If your body allows it, use some weights!

The faster you make your muscles stronger, the sooner you will start burning more calories, resulting in your body getting fitter.

Also, be conscious of your posture.

Good posture is half of the work on your body glow up routine.

Practice standing and walking straight.

It will help you look healthier, and it can literally make you feel better about yourself.

Do you absolutely hate working out? Here’s how to learn to enjoy it!

A healthy golden glow, for me, is one of the most important “glow up” tasks.

It’s just something about bronzy skin that makes a person look a lot healthier (and did I mention that it really improves the way your makeup looks?).

When I was a teenager, I used to spend my whole summer tanning on the beach just to get that dark tan before school.

I know – unhealthy!

I don’t do this anymore, and I wish I had never done this (I have quite a few moles today).

So, how to glow up your skin with a lovely shade of golden, rich, sun-kissed tan and keep your skin healthy while doing that?

You will have to choose a self-tanner as an alternative.

Yes, it takes quite some time to keep up with a good self-tanning routine (most tans need to be “built-up” and don’t last more than a week).

Here’s what you can do to outsmart this!

Recently, I fell in love with this – shall I say – innovative self-tanner by St. Tropez:

St. Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion Golden Glow Medium

With this self-tanner, you can skip all those long self-tanner applications – waiting – showering routines because this one is used in the shower for three minutes and washed off afterward.

What??

Yes!! Now you can shower AND tan at the same time!

I couldn’t believe it at first either, but yes – you don’t have to sleep covered in fake tan anymore.

It works just perfectly.

The color is nice, subtle, and natural, with no sticky feeling, no streaks, no dreading that your self-tanner will stain your clothes.

You can gradually build it up to the color you want.

Of course, you will still get a little bit of self-tanner smell with it, but I noticed that it’s much less detectable than with other tans.

You can get this tanner in a lighter or darker shade on Amazon:

St. Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion Golden Glow Medium

ST. TROPEZ Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion Light

And here are some more of my self-tanner tips: 5 Critical Self Tanner Tips For a Natural Tan All Year Round

This one is simple!

Just allow yourself to sleep more to help your body rest, recover and recharge.

It’s way more important than watching another episode on Netflix.

After all, any sleep is beauty sleep!

The air we breathe can have a direct impact on how we look, and feel.

I used to think I’m breathing fresh air in my home, but after doing an air quality test the hairs on my neck stood up.

There were allergens, tons of microdust, even MOLD particles (and I’m a clean freak!), everywhere around me.

No wonder I felt so stuffy so often.

So what can you do about air quality?

If you can invest some money, the EOS system is an absolute winner in home air purification.

I’ve been dreaming about it for a long time and hope to be able to get it one day for my family home.

It can filter out mold, pollen, dust mite allergens, food smells, formaldehydes, RNA + DNA viruses (!).

It can literally obliterate all those teeny tiny airborne pathogens that get us sick.

Hands down every germophobe’s dream!

If interested, you can read more about air quality here.

But if a personal air purifier is something out of reach, try to follow these tips as they can be just as helpful:

This part of your glow up challenge focuses on minor beauty improvements that you can do for your face, especially if you want to achieve a serious, radiant glow for your skin.

I have great news for you here – if you’re already doing the Body part, your face is getting prettier just because of that.

All that water and a healthy diet feed your skin to rebuild it, make more collagen, clear out pimples, acne, redness, and what not!

Now, to make your face really glow, here’s what you can do.

1. Use gentle exfoliators with acids to reveal new, baby-like skin.

My favorite pick here is the Glycolic Acid.

It’s a type of AHA acid that is super effective and gentle enough for any type of skin.

Just don’t overdo it – once a week is completely enough, and if you have sensitive skin – make it once in two weeks.

You can read my whole Glycolic Acid guide here.

2. Do face massages with oils every week.

I love face massages!

They definitely help you get that glowing, healthy, smooth skin.

You can choose olive oil, coconut oil (this one is also antibacterial and good for acne skin), but my favorite one is Rose Hip Seed Oil.

This oil has practically transformed my skin.

I think it’s because it’s high in natural retinol, which is very effective at reducing fine lines. You can read my review here.

3. Use face masks or face packs every week.

Sheet masks also work wonders and are inexpensive.

I like to pick a few at the drugstore, preferably the natural ones, and have them ready in case I find a few minutes to relax with a mask on.

Masks are concentrated with hydrating and replenishing ingredients.

Hence, it’s a perfect way to get glowy, pretty, radiant skin (and yes, all skin types need a face mask once a week – dry skin, sensitive skin, combination skin, and acne skin).

3. No money for face masks? No problem! Use what you have in the kitchen.

And don’t believe that those things don’t work. They do!

You can never go wrong with DIY masks made with mashed banana, crushed oats, mango, honey, a little bit of olive oil, greek yogurt, avocado…

Just mix and match to find which food your skin tends to love – and feed it!

You will love it.

Your skin will love it.

4. Then – moisturize like crazy!

Moisture is the main thing your skin needs to look great.

So invest in a good, non-comedogenic moisturizer (and a serum, if possible!).

Use it religiously, morning and night, after washing your face with warm water (or micellar solution) to keep your skin plump and healthy.

5. Start using that sunscreen, please!

If you’ve been skimping on this, it’s time to create a skincare habit of applying sunblock every morning and reapplying it throughout the day.

I know it’s a messy thing to do, but believe it or not, you will notice positive improvements in your skin as soon as a few days after starting (yes, sunscreen is that effective!).

Look for SPF 30 and more.

6. How to glow up and have a lasting glo up effect at the same time? Get generally better at skincare with this helpful list for good skin, of course!

7. Don’t forget the makeup (if you want it!).

Makeup is such an easy way to enhance your beauty.

It would be an absolute shame to skip it!

Learn about the newest makeup hacks, trends, and tricks, practice makeup tutorials by watching Youtube videos, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different makeup looks.

“Okay, no time for all of this.”

That’s fine, here’s how to make this work on a busy schedule.

Instead of doing this on separate days, pick one day where you can find 20 minutes for yourself.

This is enough to do all these three steps together.

Exfoliate > Oil Massage > Mask > You’re done in 20 minutes and leave everything else to a healthy diet and working out.

It’s more effective than you think.

If you find your skin rather picky and don’t know which skincare line to choose, I recommend talking to your dermatologist.

I’ve been struggling with breakouts on my chin that would never go away for several years.

“Fungal acne”.

“Malassezia!”.

“Acne-prone skin”.

“Closed comedones…”.

“Skin purging??”

“That’s hormonal acne FOR SURE.”

“No, lady, you just need to go to church more”.

The internet would tell me I have everything, usually all at once.

I’ve tried everything under the sun until I finally went to a derm and found out that I simply had…

Combination skin.

That is correct, all I had to do was simply get an accurate skin type diagnosis and choose skincare products accordingly.

Not my proudest moment.

Please don’t judge.

Or judge, I’m learning to be okay with it anyway.

1. Do an eyebrow inspection.

Are they even?

Are they overplucked or a bit thin?

In that case, consider regrowing them and reshaping them into a more natural, fuller shape.

Now, they take some time to grow back, but you can hide it pretty well with good eyebrow gel and rock that fuller brow until it grows back.

Another thing I recommend doing is checking if the eyebrow pencil, gel, or shadow you’re using is not too dark for your face (that can make you look a bit older).

2. Take care of facial hair.

Some people love waxing or epilating, but I can’t stand the excruciating pain and opt for a simple feminine facial blade called “derma planning razor”.

This tool is a very sharp blade (gotta be extra careful with it!) and it removes facial hair just perfectly.

You can use it on your upper lip, on your peach fuzz, and it leaves your skin notably smooth.

I know what you want to ask…

No – your hair does NOT grow back darker!

I didn’t notice any change in hair thickness or color (and frankly, the thickness of your facial hair is decided by your hormones, not your hair removal method).

You can get your derma planning razor on Amazon here.

Just be careful – do a patch-shave-test to make sure your skin likes it.

Some people get breakouts after doing anything related to facial shaving.

3. Lip care.

Stop living with dry and flaky lips. Seriously.

You probably don’t even know how beautiful your lips are!

Include a lip scrub into your skincare routine (simple sugar + olive oil works great) and invest in a good, moisturizing lip balm.

Just try it, and you will be surprised how pretty your lips actually are and how much they can add to your look.

4. Teeth.

A brighter smile is always attractive, so if you want to glow up, don’t skip this one and make it a priority in your beauty routine.

You can use baking soda and even activated charcoal to gently remove any teeth stains.

If you want a more potent effect, opt for a few rounds of teeth whitening strips.

Just as with everything – be gentle, don’t overdo this.

You don’t want to sacrifice your teeth just for the whiter color.

It hurts!

5. Inspect your beauty products.

Many skin care products are formulated with harsh ingredients that can potentially damage your skin.

Inspect the bottles and try to replace anything that has paraben, synthetic fragrances, sodium laureth sulfate (this one especially!), and mineral oil in it.

And hey, I hope I don’t need to remind you to get rid of anything that has expired too!

Let’s admit, our hair plays a significant role in the way we look.

So what are the best ways to glow up your hair?

It’s not that hard as well when you know the best tips!

Ah, that uncomfortable sentence!

It hurts my hair follicles just reading it.

I don’t enjoy trimming my hair too, but those dry ends really don’t make your hair prettier.

Trim them. Just do it!

Schedule that salon visit, do it, and move on.

(Asking your hairdresser to be careful with length also helps).

If you are coloring your hair, renewing the color can feel very refreshing and make a difference in how your hair looks.

You don’t have to change your full-length color (unless you want some BIG changes in your appearance!).

Simply coloring it the same color again will make your hair look healthier, shinier, and the color more vibrant.

If it’s been a long time since you’ve changed your hairstyle overall, now is the perfect time to dive on the internet and see what’s new!

There are so many new hairstyle ideas you can try, even without changing color or hair length if you don’t want to.

If you trust your hairstylist, you can ask for their opinion of what could fit you and look stylish every day.

Summer sun, hair dyes, products, and especially box dyes are hard on your hair.

If you want to glow up your beautiful tresses, I highly recommend investing in a few quality products to heal whatever hair damage you have.

Now here’s the secret – it doesn’t have to be expensive.

I’ve completely healed my hair with natural remedies once, but this requires more time and patience.

If you want to recover your hair fast and skip the whole searching-for-good-products-without -going-broke part, try out my favorite brand – Giovanni:

Giovanni 2Chic Brazilian Keratin and Argan Oil Ultra-Sleek Shampoo, 24 oz.

GIOVANNI – 2Chic Brazilian Keratin & Argan Oil Ultra-Sleek Conditioner, 24 Oz

These products are very powerful, and they can heal dry and damaged hair in just a few uses, making your hair remarkably soft, shiny, and healthy.

This brand is my absolute drugstore favorite for hair, and I haven’t found anything else so effective yet.

In fact, this particular Brazilian Keratin line is always sold out where I live, so it shows just how good these products are (and it’s also a little annoying, to be honest!).

There’s also a great hair mask from the Ultra Moist collection if you notice that your hair is really dehydrated.

If you want to try out this hair care brand and wonder if Giovanni Haircare has sent me these products for free – nope, they didn’t.

I purchased these products myself multiple times in the past.

These recommendations are based on my real experience.

Here’s what I use for my hair right now (should I make a review?).

P. S. Have you ever tried a scalp scrub?

It’s a wonderful way to revive your hair, awaken those hair follicles and give your whole hairstyle more energy.

It can also help you to fight hair loss!

I wish I could have long nails.

I really adore forms and colors like these:

But it’s impossible to rock these when I’m clapping on my keyboard 24/7.

However, keeping nails pretty and tidy, even if they’re not long, is a fun part of your glow up challenge – no matter what your job is.

Healthy nails are a sign of good personal hygiene and a pretty important part of your glow up plan.

If you don’t like long nails, shorter ones can look just as good!

Now, this one is pretty simple.

First, decide how you’re going to keep your hand and feet nails pretty – and make that happen!

You can do your nails at home, at the salon, or maybe your friend is an aspiring nail artist.

Just keep those nails, cuticles, and toenails tidy.

It can also play a nice part in your daily mood.

Now, what’s a glow up challenge without a beautiful change in your mind and thoughts, right?

That’s how you glow up from the inside.

It’s not enough to improve how you look – one of the most significant changes happens within!

Sounds tricky?

Here’s how to have a glow up for your inner world while you enjoy your outer appearance getting prettier and healthier every day.

If you’ve been saying mean things to yourself until now, with this glow up challenge, make a pact never to do it again.

Let it all go!

Flush those thoughts out by choosing to think of beautiful and encouraging things.

Start taking care of yourself, your body, and every single cell of yours because this is you – and you deserve love.

Whenever you feel a negative thought coming up, change it to something more helpful, encouraging, and supportive.

Don’t try to push negative emotions away – instead, just be with them.

Notice them, let them float around, and decide to have a great time despite them.

It’s time to finally love yourself!

If you happen to have a lot of negative people in your life too, let them go, if possible!

Any negativity now will only dampen your mood, which is entirely unnecessary.

Surround yourself with people who support you, love you, and lift you up instead of bringing you down.

Be the first line of support for yourself.

For once, become your best friend instead of being your enemy.

Practice gratitude.

Smile at yourself!

It’s not easy, but it can make you so, so much happier.

Once you say goodbye to negative self-talk and self-criticism, allow real self-love to pour into your life by actually doing acts of love!

Enhance your glow up time with beautiful self-love.

Practice self-care activities that help you to calm down, slow down, appreciate the present moment, and be grateful for what you are and what you have now.

Out of ideas? You can try:

More self care ideas here:

How do you glow up from within if you lack confidence?

You do that by boosting your motivation, mindset, and creating a new, assertive girl attitude for yourself!

I might be one of those few (almost extinct!) people who believe that it’s okay to be a girl with an attitude.

I honestly think that the right attitude is vital for your confidence because that’s how you protect yourself and advance in life.

One of the best ways to glow up your attitude is by reading inspiring quotes (yes, I know it sounds boring, but it works).

I have a gorgeous, huge collection of incredibly empowering attitude quotes for girls, that can help you with this glow up step.

Do check them out – I promise you won’t regret reading them!

Related: 30+ Positive Affirmations For Confidence

To completely glow up your inner world, review your life goals and lady rules you’re living by.

Create life rules that speak happiness, kindness, self-respect, and appreciation.

Have no idea where to start? No problem!

Here are a few articles that can help you to create high-class lady manners, build a positive, goal-oriented, helpful, and kind mindset.

Go through life with a glowing smile!

Here are some tips on how to glow up your lifestyle:

How To Be a Lady: 30 Lady Rules To Build a Gorgeous Life On

10 Etiquette Rules That Show You Are a Real High-Class Lady

How To Have a Perfect “Get Your Life Together” Day

Achieving your dreams can make you see the prettiest version of yourself.

The happiness and gratitude you feel once your dream comes true lights your eyes with fire.

Go for that spark!

Don’t even wait – sit down and write five goals you want to achieve in the next five years.

There is no need to rush, but you have to know what you want before working on it.

And don’t be afraid to dream big- the bigger your dreams, the stronger your ambitions.

Reach high, lift yourself up!

You have way more inner power, motivation, and strength than you imagine.

The most natural way to glow up inside out is to focus on your physical and mental health with good habits.

Choose products that are clean, filled with natural ingredients, and not tested on animals (vegan is fine too).

Spend time outside, breathe in fresh oxygen, soak up the sun to produce lots of Vitamin D, and find a reason to smile every day.

The whole harmony and newly found peace inside you will force a glow up you might not even expect!

If you’re in a hurry to look and feel your best in no more than a week, here’s what I recommend.

An overnight glow up is possible as well, but it might not be as obvious.

To quickly glow up and enjoy a brighter view (and mood!) in the morning:

Breakups can be difficult, but they can also work as a motivation to get that glow up you’ve been dreaming of.

If you want to impress your ex, make him/her miss you, or find a new person, this whole “how to glow up list” is perfect for your glow up goals – start with step 1!

As with everything, there’s always an option to do more…

But I didn’t want this glow up challenge to feel too overwhelming, so I focused on what was most important.

It still turned out a lot, but some of these things are just natural things you’re doing daily anyway (like eating and drinking water).

Feel free to add more ideas to your plan.

Make it your own!

Personalize until you’re happy with your project.

To make everything easy to follow – systemize.

Don’t forget to grab that free printable glow up planner I mentioned at the beginning!

I hope this challenge will help you to glow up before the next season or whenever you want to boost your appearance and inner world.

Let us know if you like this by sharing it on social media.

P. S. Get more beauty improvement tips and ideas on how to glow up right here!

Gate D: Corner of Jersey Street and Van Ness Street.

HSBC's securities services division launches UK transfer agency business. The service is supported by a new Edinburgh-based operation

You know it actually works because it has been used medically since the 1980s, approved by the FDA as a muscle stimulator to treat Bell's palsy

As a teenager she began appearing in school plays and later trained at the Arden School of Theatre in Manchester. It was only after she graduated at 23 that she was diagnosed with the rare connective tissue disorder, Hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (hEDS).

1. Select the picture you want to compress
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1. Online: Go to Ask EDD and select the category Unemployment Insurance Benefits, the sub category UI Online, and the topic EDD Customer Account Number
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I watched a program about MI6 and one of the people on the program stated that one of the enduring traditions of MI6 is that its head writes

1. Rule out health problems Fatigue is a common symptom of many illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, anemia, thyroid disease, and sleep apnea
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Tumgun Lookout

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Berkeley, Barkley. Berkshire, Barkshire. Bicester, Bister. Cholmondeley, Chumley. Cholmondeston, Chumston. Costessey, Cossey. Cowbit, Cubbit. Derby, Darby.

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Vasai-Virar, Maharashtra

You have probably either tried it yourself or have heard of others who have: The Ouija Board.

One or more participants sit across from each other with their fingers on a glass. Around the glass are numbers and letters. A spirit is summoned, you ask questions, and the glass begins to move from one letter to the next to spell out the response:

“K-N-I-F-E”

Perhaps you were absolutely certain that it was not you who moved the glass, and everyone else had the same feeling. So who did? A ghost?

Alright, so here comes the breaking news: No, it was not a spirit. It was you! Or rather, it was you and your friends that unconsciously collaborated to select the letters.

In a new study, scientists from Aarhus University, in Denmark, the University of Southern Denmark, and Bielefeld University in Germany have identified precisely what happens when the glass moves.

Lead-author on the new study, Marc Andersen, a postdoc from the Interactive Minds Centre at Aarhus University, had long wondered:

How can a group of people, each with a finger on the glass, spell out a meaningful word and still be convinced that they didn’t do it?

In 2015, he packed his bag with a notebook, video camera, and eye-tracking equipment, and set off for Baltimore in the US with a research assistant.

They were headed to a conference for people that communicate with the dead via Ouija boards. Instead of a glass, they use a triangular piece of plastic, called a planchette, which moves around the board and points to letters, numbers, and individual words such as yes or no.

Andersen recruited 40 participants who wore eye-tracking equipment, which followed the participants’ eye movements as they navigated the board. The séance was also recorded. The results are published in the scientific journal Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences.

Read More: Why horror is so popular

Participants sat in pairs, and were instructed to do two things:

As you might expect, when the participants spelled out Baltimore, they looked at the next letter ahead of time before moving the planchette to that letter. In other words, they could easily predict where the planchette would end up.

But when they moved on to the second task (to conduct a Ouija board session as usual), it was much more difficult for the individual participants to predict where the planchette would move.

And here is the paradox: How can the participants be unable to predict the word that will be spelled out (hence the belief that a spirit did it) when more than 100 years of research shows that the participants are clearly moving the glass themselves?

Andersen explains they figured out what was happening, not by looking at each individual’s eye movements, but by looking at the combined eye movements of each pair of players.

Tracking the combined eye movements of two players turned out to be as good a predictor of where the planchette would end up as tracking just one player’s eye movement when they are purposely spelling out a known word, as in the Baltimore exercise.

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So, while an individual player cannot predict where the planchette will move, the combined eye movement of the pair of players reveals what the “spirit” will write, especially after the first few letters, which seem to occur at random.

“What is so fascinating about this phenomenon is that individual participants exhibit great difficulties in predicting what the “spirit” is trying to tell them, but as soon as we look at the participants as a collective entity, we see how meaningful responses are still able to emerge out of their interaction with each other,” says Andersen.

“Our study solves the apparent paradox that participants on the one hand are producing the Ouija responses themselves, while they on the other hand are unable to predict those very same responses at an individual level. In that sense, you could say that the “spirit” is actually a representation of the collective ‘we’,” he says.

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Professor James Todd from Eastern Michigan University, USA, is impressed with the study. He was not involved with it, but has 25 years of experience researching how we communicate via others or using objects.

“I was impressed by their imaginative and effective use of . In other words, Andersen’s work is quite valuable in that it gives us a relatively easy way to detect and measure mistaken attributions of action under reasonably ordinary conditions in ordinary people,” he writes in an email to our sister site, Videnskab.dk.

“The fact that Andersen and his colleagues were able to get these results outside of the laboratory probably strengthens the outcome. The effects were strong enough to detect under reasonably ordinary conditions,” he writes.

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The Baltimore experiment also shows that people, who believe that the Ouija board can be used to contact the dead, are also more likely to believe that the planchette moves itself, compared to those who are more sceptical.

This pattern fits Andersen’s previous experimental research, using virtual reality. In this study, as participants walked through a virtual reality forest, those who expected to encounter something supernatural were more likely to report experiencing it afterwards.

This is thought to be due to the effects of expectations on our conscious experience of the world around us.

———————-Read more in the Danish version of this article at Videnskab.dk

Translated by: Catherine Jex