Cliff Gilley,
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There is no scientific evidence whatsoever that ghosts (intelligent spirits of those who have passed away) exist. There are two possible conclusions to draw from this fact: (1) that ghosts do not actually exist; or (2) that we have not yet acquired the scientific knowledge to understand or measure their existence.
That said, I do have to challenge what Tony Nguyen brings up as a reductio ad absurdum, in that most people who believe in ghosts do not believe that everyone leaves behind a spirit when they pass away, but only those who die with either unfinished business or under extreme circumstances do so. Thus, that implies that there is some conscious effort or effect that "triggers" the situation, which would explain why the world isn't "overrun" with spirits or why there are no spirits from non-sapient creatures.
I don't say this to assert that there are such things as ghosts or spirits, merely to say that we have no scientific evidence to support their existence. However, there are a great many things that have been presumed not to exist, yet have been identified and scientifically validated as our technology and understanding of the universe increased.
It doesn't seem very "scientific" to me to quickly dismiss such possibilities out of hand.
That said, I do have to challenge what Tony Nguyen brings up as a reductio ad absurdum, in that most people who believe in ghosts do not believe that everyone leaves behind a spirit when they pass away, but only those who die with either unfinished business or under extreme circumstances do so. Thus, that implies that there is some conscious effort or effect that "triggers" the situation, which would explain why the world isn't "overrun" with spirits or why there are no spirits from non-sapient creatures.
I don't say this to assert that there are such things as ghosts or spirits, merely to say that we have no scientific evidence to support their existence. However, there are a great many things that have been presumed not to exist, yet have been identified and scientifically validated as our technology and understanding of the universe increased.
It doesn't seem very "scientific" to me to quickly dismiss such possibilities out of hand.
As generally understood, "ghosts" meaning paranormal entities that interact with the natural world, I think we can say "no" to the extent we can say "no" to the existence of the positing of any given number of things that hypothetically would have to be said to "possibly" exist so long as it is impossible to prove one way or another despite there being no actual empirical evidence or natural, logical, scientific reason or explanation for how and why they could/would exist.
On the other hand, I know people who are otherwise very scientifically and rationally oriented, but who feel we should leave open the potential that alternate dimensions might have alternate laws of physics, and perhaps hauntings and other claims are based on some sort of passage between dimensions, or overlap, or some other situation that merely lies beyond our current capacity to understand as an otherwise "natural" occurrence, because our point of reference is limited to what we can observe and share about our own specific interaction with our own universe through eyes, ears, and touch.
And at least in a very narrow sense, to the extent ghosts are not exactly here and exist in some strange other worldly state between here and some strange, intangible world from which they stir our imaginations and make us afraid of what we don't see, ghosts "exist" because they exist in pop culture and the imagination, you could say. Ghost stories and beliefs do serve some very basic need for a lot of people to believe in things beyond this world, not just in a religious sense but just the view that as technology and understanding erase mysteries and awe as we grow older and learn there's no Santa and no this or that etc, it's nice that there are still some corners we can call "uncharted."
SORT OF HAUNT
On the other hand, I know people who are otherwise very scientifically and rationally oriented, but who feel we should leave open the potential that alternate dimensions might have alternate laws of physics, and perhaps hauntings and other claims are based on some sort of passage between dimensions, or overlap, or some other situation that merely lies beyond our current capacity to understand as an otherwise "natural" occurrence, because our point of reference is limited to what we can observe and share about our own specific interaction with our own universe through eyes, ears, and touch.
And at least in a very narrow sense, to the extent ghosts are not exactly here and exist in some strange other worldly state between here and some strange, intangible world from which they stir our imaginations and make us afraid of what we don't see, ghosts "exist" because they exist in pop culture and the imagination, you could say. Ghost stories and beliefs do serve some very basic need for a lot of people to believe in things beyond this world, not just in a religious sense but just the view that as technology and understanding erase mysteries and awe as we grow older and learn there's no Santa and no this or that etc, it's nice that there are still some corners we can call "uncharted."
To answer that question, we have to leave the realm of the hard sciences and enter the muddy waters of theory, speculation, and (oftentimes) faith. At this point, there's no definitive way to scientifically prove ghosts are real, just as there's no way to prove God, angels, Satan, and demons are real. But just because something cannot be scientifically verified doesn't mean it isn't real. I can't go into a lab and perform a series of controlled experiments to show God exists -- and yet I still believe in Him.
Ghost hunting, therefore, must be classified as a pseudo-science. To answer your question, I'll delve into the theories that are generally held among paranormal investigators.
There are five basic kinds of hauntings: intelligent, residual, poltergeist, time warp, and demonic. The first three involve human energy, the fourth involves astrophysics, and the last...the last is just plain scary as hell. Literally.
1) Intelligent: A human (or sometimes an animal) dies, but their soul/energy doesn't move on to the afterlife (heaven, hell, purgatory, wherever their destination lies). There are many reasons as to why this might happen: a) The person doesn't know that they've died and they're just trying to live their lives as they've always done; b) The person died in a strange or violent manner and they're just pissed or unsatisfied or sad about what happened to them, hanging around until they feel vindicated; c) The person is frightened about moving on, usually because their final destination is hell; d) The person chooses to stay around to watch over family members or a location that's important to them, or they're attached to an object; e) The person just plain got STUCK, for lack of a better word. They don't want to be here at all, but they don't know how to move on. Intelligent hauntings can have patterns that they repeat, but they're not eternally wedded to those patterns. If their energy is strong enough, they can be seen in varying levels of transparent and opaque forms, they can move objects, or speak. Hunters theorize that spirits can drain energy from the atmosphere around them (creating the tell-tale temperature drop), from living humans, or from electrical equipment (hunters ALWAYS have extra batteries with them, since a ghost can take a new battery and drain it dead in a matter of minutes).
2) Residual: The soul of the dead human isn't actually there. Their energy was "recorded" in a certain location and, every so often, certain actions are replayed. Maybe they died violently, releasing strong energy into the area. Maybe they performed a task so many times that they've left a permanent impression, like a crevasse on an old mattress. Maybe the materials around them are good at soaking up energies -- paranormal theory states that different substances, like stone or quartz, are better at holding those energies. Residual hauntings also explain why several places can be haunted by the same person; they're not actually there. It's just a faint leftover of the person that's remained.
3) Poltergeists: Hunters can be split on these. Some say they're actual spirits, others contend that all poltergeist activity is unknowingly caused by a human being with untapped telekinetic abilities (usually a child or adolescent who's under great amounts of stress). These hauntings are often very frightening. Objects get thrown or destroyed. People are attacked. Eerie sounds are heard. The sounds are what give this haunting its name: "poltergeist" is German for "noisy spirit".
4) Time Warp: It's just a jump to the left... (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) The time warp hypothesis theorizes (to paraphrase Doctor Who) that time isn't a strict progression of cause and effect, but rather a "ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey...stuff". In time warp hauntings, a window has formed in the fourth dimension, and what you're seeing isn't a ghost -- it's a living person, in their own time, doing whatever they're doing. Heck, maybe they can see you, too. Maybe they think YOU'RE the ghost!
5) Demonic: These are the "drop everything and call a priest NOW" hauntings. The spirits aren't human, and they've never BEEN human. They're dark, harmful beings who wish to cause as much trauma as possible, through oppression, splitting families apart, etc., up to and sometimes including influencing humans to harm/kill others or taking full possession of a human. These forces involve a realm that we will never fully understand and that we reaaaalllly should NOT be messing with. Do NOT invite a spirit to use your energy. Do NOT mess with Ouija or spirit boards. Do NOT participate in seances. Oftentimes (if contact is made), a demon will masquerade as a friendly spirit, and use the connection that's made as a conduit into our realm. (I point to the haunted doll Annabelle: although in "The Conjuring" and in her own film, the doll was very scary-looking, in reality, she's a harmless-looking Raggedy Ann doll. Ed and Lorraine Warren really did investigate this case and made the call that the so-called "ghost" that called itself Annabelle was actually a demonic spirit that was using the doll as a conduit to get at the human owners. Annabelle, to this day, resides in the Warren's macabre museum of haunted or cursed objects, locked away in a blessed glass case that bears a sign that reads, "Do not open ever", or something to that effect.) Don't mess with demons. You can't get rid of them with your own plucky willpower. They respond to holy authority and fear God.
So...that was the long answer to a very short question. A crash course in ghosts, if you will! I hope I was helpful and not too long-winded...
Ghost hunting, therefore, must be classified as a pseudo-science. To answer your question, I'll delve into the theories that are generally held among paranormal investigators.
There are five basic kinds of hauntings: intelligent, residual, poltergeist, time warp, and demonic. The first three involve human energy, the fourth involves astrophysics, and the last...the last is just plain scary as hell. Literally.
1) Intelligent: A human (or sometimes an animal) dies, but their soul/energy doesn't move on to the afterlife (heaven, hell, purgatory, wherever their destination lies). There are many reasons as to why this might happen: a) The person doesn't know that they've died and they're just trying to live their lives as they've always done; b) The person died in a strange or violent manner and they're just pissed or unsatisfied or sad about what happened to them, hanging around until they feel vindicated; c) The person is frightened about moving on, usually because their final destination is hell; d) The person chooses to stay around to watch over family members or a location that's important to them, or they're attached to an object; e) The person just plain got STUCK, for lack of a better word. They don't want to be here at all, but they don't know how to move on. Intelligent hauntings can have patterns that they repeat, but they're not eternally wedded to those patterns. If their energy is strong enough, they can be seen in varying levels of transparent and opaque forms, they can move objects, or speak. Hunters theorize that spirits can drain energy from the atmosphere around them (creating the tell-tale temperature drop), from living humans, or from electrical equipment (hunters ALWAYS have extra batteries with them, since a ghost can take a new battery and drain it dead in a matter of minutes).
2) Residual: The soul of the dead human isn't actually there. Their energy was "recorded" in a certain location and, every so often, certain actions are replayed. Maybe they died violently, releasing strong energy into the area. Maybe they performed a task so many times that they've left a permanent impression, like a crevasse on an old mattress. Maybe the materials around them are good at soaking up energies -- paranormal theory states that different substances, like stone or quartz, are better at holding those energies. Residual hauntings also explain why several places can be haunted by the same person; they're not actually there. It's just a faint leftover of the person that's remained.
3) Poltergeists: Hunters can be split on these. Some say they're actual spirits, others contend that all poltergeist activity is unknowingly caused by a human being with untapped telekinetic abilities (usually a child or adolescent who's under great amounts of stress). These hauntings are often very frightening. Objects get thrown or destroyed. People are attacked. Eerie sounds are heard. The sounds are what give this haunting its name: "poltergeist" is German for "noisy spirit".
4) Time Warp: It's just a jump to the left... (Sorry, I couldn't resist.) The time warp hypothesis theorizes (to paraphrase Doctor Who) that time isn't a strict progression of cause and effect, but rather a "ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey...stuff". In time warp hauntings, a window has formed in the fourth dimension, and what you're seeing isn't a ghost -- it's a living person, in their own time, doing whatever they're doing. Heck, maybe they can see you, too. Maybe they think YOU'RE the ghost!
5) Demonic: These are the "drop everything and call a priest NOW" hauntings. The spirits aren't human, and they've never BEEN human. They're dark, harmful beings who wish to cause as much trauma as possible, through oppression, splitting families apart, etc., up to and sometimes including influencing humans to harm/kill others or taking full possession of a human. These forces involve a realm that we will never fully understand and that we reaaaalllly should NOT be messing with. Do NOT invite a spirit to use your energy. Do NOT mess with Ouija or spirit boards. Do NOT participate in seances. Oftentimes (if contact is made), a demon will masquerade as a friendly spirit, and use the connection that's made as a conduit into our realm. (I point to the haunted doll Annabelle: although in "The Conjuring" and in her own film, the doll was very scary-looking, in reality, she's a harmless-looking Raggedy Ann doll. Ed and Lorraine Warren really did investigate this case and made the call that the so-called "ghost" that called itself Annabelle was actually a demonic spirit that was using the doll as a conduit to get at the human owners. Annabelle, to this day, resides in the Warren's macabre museum of haunted or cursed objects, locked away in a blessed glass case that bears a sign that reads, "Do not open ever", or something to that effect.) Don't mess with demons. You can't get rid of them with your own plucky willpower. They respond to holy authority and fear God.
So...that was the long answer to a very short question. A crash course in ghosts, if you will! I hope I was helpful and not too long-winded...
I would say yes and no. That which most people commonly think of when they encounter the term 'spirit', those sort of spirits certainly do not exist! However in the original and deeper meaning of the term 'spirit', they certainly do exist.
The term 'spirit' arose within the context of mystic discourses. It has over time been heavily misinterpreted due to Naive Realism ( http://bit.ly/duT3V9 ) and then co-opted for political purposes or for fantasy and entertainment. It is these misconceptions that have pervaded our culture and which most people associate with the term 'spirit'.
To understand the mystic meaning of the term requires a radical paradigm shift. If your mind firmly believes that the personality complex within the mind is in fact a physical person and that the mind's stream of experiences is in fact a physical world then it is impossible to comprehend the mystic meaning of 'spirit'. From this world-view the term can only be known as some vague "fairy tale" concept that one either believes or disbelieves.
One must overcome naïve realism to some extent in order to comprehend spirit. To understand the nature of the paradigm shift required please refer to John Ringland's answer to What is consciousness? and also John Ringland's answer to The Big Philosophical Questions: Is the Universe a Simulation?
Within the context of the paradigm described in those answers I can define spirit as an information process. The seemingly 'physical' universe is in fact a virtual construct being animated by information processes. These processes operate within / behind / beyond the virtual world permeating it and animating it into existence. Thus all that we are, that we experience, that believe and that we can be is mediated by the underlying information processes (the spirit world).
An equivalent term from physics would be 'wavefunction'. It is an information process that is non-physical and non-local. It is an un-manifest phenomenon that underlies and animates all manifest forms.
So in a mystic sense, spirits most certainly do exist. In a computational sense the information processes that animate our universe certainly do exist. In a quantum sense the wavefunctions that are the non-physical reality underlying the physical universe certainly do exist.
A lot of what is written about spirits is just misconceptions and fairy tales. However if you turn to some coherent sources, then keeping this understanding of 'spirits' in mind you may find that what was previously just "fairy tale" nonsense is actually saying something quite valid and meaningful.
Such writings are not talking about spirits as if they are 'people' that live on a higher plane of existence to us mortals (that is just a metaphorical narrative). When the symbolic, mythic and conceptual languages are properly deciphered, these writings are talking about primal forces operating within the field of existence, which are an intrinsic aspect of the ongoing process of the real.
BTW John Ringland's answer to What use is the I Ching? contains some talk about spirits in the mystic sense. If interpreted through a naïve realist world-view it would seem spurious, yet if interpreted with mystic insight it makes a great deal of sense.
The term 'spirit' arose within the context of mystic discourses. It has over time been heavily misinterpreted due to Naive Realism ( http://bit.ly/duT3V9 ) and then co-opted for political purposes or for fantasy and entertainment. It is these misconceptions that have pervaded our culture and which most people associate with the term 'spirit'.
To understand the mystic meaning of the term requires a radical paradigm shift. If your mind firmly believes that the personality complex within the mind is in fact a physical person and that the mind's stream of experiences is in fact a physical world then it is impossible to comprehend the mystic meaning of 'spirit'. From this world-view the term can only be known as some vague "fairy tale" concept that one either believes or disbelieves.
One must overcome naïve realism to some extent in order to comprehend spirit. To understand the nature of the paradigm shift required please refer to John Ringland's answer to What is consciousness? and also John Ringland's answer to The Big Philosophical Questions: Is the Universe a Simulation?
Within the context of the paradigm described in those answers I can define spirit as an information process. The seemingly 'physical' universe is in fact a virtual construct being animated by information processes. These processes operate within / behind / beyond the virtual world permeating it and animating it into existence. Thus all that we are, that we experience, that believe and that we can be is mediated by the underlying information processes (the spirit world).
An equivalent term from physics would be 'wavefunction'. It is an information process that is non-physical and non-local. It is an un-manifest phenomenon that underlies and animates all manifest forms.
So in a mystic sense, spirits most certainly do exist. In a computational sense the information processes that animate our universe certainly do exist. In a quantum sense the wavefunctions that are the non-physical reality underlying the physical universe certainly do exist.
A lot of what is written about spirits is just misconceptions and fairy tales. However if you turn to some coherent sources, then keeping this understanding of 'spirits' in mind you may find that what was previously just "fairy tale" nonsense is actually saying something quite valid and meaningful.
Such writings are not talking about spirits as if they are 'people' that live on a higher plane of existence to us mortals (that is just a metaphorical narrative). When the symbolic, mythic and conceptual languages are properly deciphered, these writings are talking about primal forces operating within the field of existence, which are an intrinsic aspect of the ongoing process of the real.
BTW John Ringland's answer to What use is the I Ching? contains some talk about spirits in the mystic sense. If interpreted through a naïve realist world-view it would seem spurious, yet if interpreted with mystic insight it makes a great deal of sense.
There is a great deal of evidence from many scientific studies into what people understand as paranormal, yet to those individuals who understand and live between these realities - paranormal is actually normal. However, in the scientific field nothing can be conclusive, so everything, no matter how objective it actually is remains inconclusive due to the lack of understanding from the investigator or indeed fear of the reality of the unknown becoming known. If we take cases such as the haunting in Connecticut or the Enfield poltergeist in London or indeed the poltergeist case in Strathclyde in Scotland, you will see that much of the activity that has been witnessed was in fact very real and objective but science has to say inconclusive because there is a fear the reality could turn what we understand upside down and then where would we be.
The answer i believe is a double edged sword and is correct in both camps, this is why we need to continually validate and investigate claims of the paranormal. In my own experience i have only experienced a real haunting on 2 occasions but far more that i have investigated have been false and was found to be merely a misunderstanding of perception.
The answer i believe is a double edged sword and is correct in both camps, this is why we need to continually validate and investigate claims of the paranormal. In my own experience i have only experienced a real haunting on 2 occasions but far more that i have investigated have been false and was found to be merely a misunderstanding of perception.
No.
Ghosts, like gods, psychic powers, omens, reincarnation, and the like, are examples of inherently complex, non-reducible phenomena (ICNRPs). It's not just that we happen not to have worked out a physics of ectoplasm yet; it's that the very idea of such a physics, a reductionist theory of ghost-particles that would collectively act like vaporous copies of dead people, is absurd. What happens when you do brain surgery on a ghost? What is the mass, or electromagnetic structure, or angular momentum, of a poltergeist? If it depends, what does it depend on, and what are the bosons that carry this dependence? Such questions might make good fodder for Star Trek technobabble, but in scientific terms, the more seriously you take them, the more you realize that they just make no sense.
OK, so ghosts are complex and non-reducible. Couldn't they still exist? There is a simple answer: no.
Wait a minute, you say. How can I be so certain? Isn't it impossible to scientifically prove a negative? Sure, that's true. But we can certainly see a pattern: there are mountains of examples of purported ICNRPs that evaporated or turned out to be reducible when scientists investigated them. Moreover, even if you can't prove a negative scientifically, you can do so logically. Even if you haven't checked all the even numbers besides 2, you can be sure that none that are prime. While a nebulous concept like "ghost" isn't subject to that same rigorous axiomatic refutation, its very haziness is still good logical evidence to discount it.
Aren't I relying on faith here, just as much as a Catholic talking about the trinity? Well, yes and no. There is a certain element of faith, in that I'm assuming that the stories I've heard about scientists and their successful experiments are not a pile of elaborate fictions. But then, the fact the principles they discovered allow me to push buttons on a box and have them turn into words you can read on a glowing flat thing anywhere in the world, is evidence in favor of that. There's also an element of faith in my intuitive understanding. I mean, I've tried to think about it seriously, and it seems clear to me that a reductionist physics of ghosts is impossible; but there's always some chance I could be wrong about that.
But none of those pieces of faith — my faith in my senses, my faith that thousands of scientists are not all lying or themselves fictional, and my faith in my intuition — is remotely comparable to the leaps of faith of the Catholic in my example. That person is taking one old book along with some strained interpretations thereof from hundreds of years after it was written, and elevating those things above all the comparable-but-contradict
Now, it would be easy to take this too far. Clearly, I shouldn't dismiss something just because I don't currently have a reductionist theory for how it works. As Hamlet reminds us, there are still more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in my philosophy; and some of those things may forever escape our limited understanding. Perfect weather prediction, an algorithm for literature, the origins of language — though there's nothing inherently irreducible about any of these problems, they are big and tough and perhaps insoluble. And there are surely other answers just as big and tough and important where we still lack even the question.
But... ghosts, and other ICNRPs, aren't among them. If you hear the voice of your departed loved one in an empty room, if doors slam inexplicably in your house, or if you see a strange glow in a video feed, you should look for some other explanation. It may be your subconscious telling you something wise, inspired by wisdom you learned from your dead friend; but it is not your dead friend in spectral form. There is plenty of cause for awe and wonder in the truth, and no need to hang on to old, mistaken ideas.
Ghosts, like gods, psychic powers, omens, reincarnation, and the like, are examples of inherently complex, non-reducible phenomena (ICNRPs). It's not just that we happen not to have worked out a physics of ectoplasm yet; it's that the very idea of such a physics, a reductionist theory of ghost-particles that would collectively act like vaporous copies of dead people, is absurd. What happens when you do brain surgery on a ghost? What is the mass, or electromagnetic structure, or angular momentum, of a poltergeist? If it depends, what does it depend on, and what are the bosons that carry this dependence? Such questions might make good fodder for Star Trek technobabble, but in scientific terms, the more seriously you take them, the more you realize that they just make no sense.
OK, so ghosts are complex and non-reducible. Couldn't they still exist? There is a simple answer: no.
Wait a minute, you say. How can I be so certain? Isn't it impossible to scientifically prove a negative? Sure, that's true. But we can certainly see a pattern: there are mountains of examples of purported ICNRPs that evaporated or turned out to be reducible when scientists investigated them. Moreover, even if you can't prove a negative scientifically, you can do so logically. Even if you haven't checked all the even numbers besides 2, you can be sure that none that are prime. While a nebulous concept like "ghost" isn't subject to that same rigorous axiomatic refutation, its very haziness is still good logical evidence to discount it.
Aren't I relying on faith here, just as much as a Catholic talking about the trinity? Well, yes and no. There is a certain element of faith, in that I'm assuming that the stories I've heard about scientists and their successful experiments are not a pile of elaborate fictions. But then, the fact the principles they discovered allow me to push buttons on a box and have them turn into words you can read on a glowing flat thing anywhere in the world, is evidence in favor of that. There's also an element of faith in my intuitive understanding. I mean, I've tried to think about it seriously, and it seems clear to me that a reductionist physics of ghosts is impossible; but there's always some chance I could be wrong about that.
But none of those pieces of faith — my faith in my senses, my faith that thousands of scientists are not all lying or themselves fictional, and my faith in my intuition — is remotely comparable to the leaps of faith of the Catholic in my example. That person is taking one old book along with some strained interpretations thereof from hundreds of years after it was written, and elevating those things above all the comparable-but-contradict
Now, it would be easy to take this too far. Clearly, I shouldn't dismiss something just because I don't currently have a reductionist theory for how it works. As Hamlet reminds us, there are still more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in my philosophy; and some of those things may forever escape our limited understanding. Perfect weather prediction, an algorithm for literature, the origins of language — though there's nothing inherently irreducible about any of these problems, they are big and tough and perhaps insoluble. And there are surely other answers just as big and tough and important where we still lack even the question.
But... ghosts, and other ICNRPs, aren't among them. If you hear the voice of your departed loved one in an empty room, if doors slam inexplicably in your house, or if you see a strange glow in a video feed, you should look for some other explanation. It may be your subconscious telling you something wise, inspired by wisdom you learned from your dead friend; but it is not your dead friend in spectral form. There is plenty of cause for awe and wonder in the truth, and no need to hang on to old, mistaken ideas.
Before this, one should be clear at the definition of ghost. A ghost is just a soul which has no gross body, no host. After death a soul is assigned a new body (reincarnation) but some souls refuses to reincarnate and wishes to remain in this material world, wandering with no gross body. This can be due to several attachments, suicide or curse gained during the course of life. For instance a person who has worked hard in his life to build his dream house dies, due to his severe attachment with his property he might be reluctant to just leave away the place and may choose to stay there. Many souls who have painful death or intense unfulfilled desire wishes to live isolated, lonely. But this is unwise, foolishness. Vedas confirm that the moment of death of every organism gets fixed from the moment it takes birth. Most importantly, when a person dies and leaves his body it feels great relief. And one must know that there is a sort of fear in taking new body i.e. birth, upcoming painful session. Birth is one of the four unavoidable greatest pain. In womb of a mother for so many months! It's very painful. Only you don't remember.
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Ghosts are, in general, referred as dangerous, spirits with evil intentions. A ghost wandering may come across many allurements that intensifies its feeling for sense gratification. But with no gross body, a ghost just can't enjoy. So what remains is an unfulfilled desire. This results in frustration and it often turns them into evil. For eg. a soul who used to enjoy eating a certain food item while living, when it come across such thing, a desire pops up which can't be fulfilled due to lack of gross body, So now he/she would try to posses someone else body with which he/she could fulfill his/her desires. I guess most of you must have seen or heard some paranormal or haunting stories.
So in my opinion ghosts do exists.
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Ghosts are, in general, referred as dangerous, spirits with evil intentions. A ghost wandering may come across many allurements that intensifies its feeling for sense gratification. But with no gross body, a ghost just can't enjoy. So what remains is an unfulfilled desire. This results in frustration and it often turns them into evil. For eg. a soul who used to enjoy eating a certain food item while living, when it come across such thing, a desire pops up which can't be fulfilled due to lack of gross body, So now he/she would try to posses someone else body with which he/she could fulfill his/her desires. I guess most of you must have seen or heard some paranormal or haunting stories.
So in my opinion ghosts do exists.
GHOSTS DON'T MAKE SENSE
Let's ignore for a moment that the "soul" is a nebulous concept that doesn't account for the wealth of knowledge we have on the nature of consciousness, or that we have no observable evidence or even a viable theory as to how that information would be stored.
Imagine that you are a ghost. OK, so some consciousness floating around. How do you interact with the world? We see things because photons hit our eyes - if light is passing through you, how exactly do you see the world? How do you interact with the world if it can't interact with you?
Let's ignore for a moment that the "soul" is a nebulous concept that doesn't account for the wealth of knowledge we have on the nature of consciousness, or that we have no observable evidence or even a viable theory as to how that information would be stored.
Imagine that you are a ghost. OK, so some consciousness floating around. How do you interact with the world? We see things because photons hit our eyes - if light is passing through you, how exactly do you see the world? How do you interact with the world if it can't interact with you?
In as far the universe as we know it, no, there is no reason to suspect that spirits exist, and plenty of evidence that nothing that might be called a spirit can be seen, heard, or otherwise interacted with. All reports of such things can be dismissed as fanciful, or put down to known effects such as electro magnetic stimulation, or brain conditioning such as the creation of paranoia due to standing sound waves.
However, the universe is a pretty complex place and there is a lot we don't know about it. It is entirely plausible that the universe we experience and is a construct of our minds (singularly with other people being constructed by our minds, or as a group) or some other construct which we can experience by proxies through our bodies (a bit like the Matrix). There is no reason to think this, but no reason why this cannot be the case. On the other hand if you think that the physical world is fully understood, then you are living in a fantasy world of your own making which has nothing to do with the real reality we appear to live in - just ask yourself where the big bang came from, and then look up 'spooky' interactions in Quantum Mechanics, to feed your self doubt, then read QED to confirm that the nature of the world is not as you perceive it. Thinking about the 'colour' of things smaller than the wave length of red light gives pause for thought too.
Once you accept the world is not as you perceive it, there is plenty of scope for a 'spirit' or some such being part of life in the bigger picture outside of the universe we experience. Personally I doubt it though and I think conciousness and self awareness is just an emergent property from the chemo-electrical activity of our brains, which has evolved through billions of years of evolutions from simple quarks, though Hydrogen, other elements, molecules, organic chemistry, simple cells, and animals. But I still can't quite explain the sophistication of thought, any more than the origin of the big bang.
However, the universe is a pretty complex place and there is a lot we don't know about it. It is entirely plausible that the universe we experience and is a construct of our minds (singularly with other people being constructed by our minds, or as a group) or some other construct which we can experience by proxies through our bodies (a bit like the Matrix). There is no reason to think this, but no reason why this cannot be the case. On the other hand if you think that the physical world is fully understood, then you are living in a fantasy world of your own making which has nothing to do with the real reality we appear to live in - just ask yourself where the big bang came from, and then look up 'spooky' interactions in Quantum Mechanics, to feed your self doubt, then read QED to confirm that the nature of the world is not as you perceive it. Thinking about the 'colour' of things smaller than the wave length of red light gives pause for thought too.
Once you accept the world is not as you perceive it, there is plenty of scope for a 'spirit' or some such being part of life in the bigger picture outside of the universe we experience. Personally I doubt it though and I think conciousness and self awareness is just an emergent property from the chemo-electrical activity of our brains, which has evolved through billions of years of evolutions from simple quarks, though Hydrogen, other elements, molecules, organic chemistry, simple cells, and animals. But I still can't quite explain the sophistication of thought, any more than the origin of the big bang.
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Oh boy. This question is a challenge for me to answer. I wasn't 100% sure I really wanted to even try but then I thought maybe it might help me to sort through some of my thoughts on the subject. Previous attempts at explaining my thoughts have been met with either complete confusion or ridicule so I really haven't spent a lot of time thinking through or vocalizing on this subject. So this will be both an answer and an exploration of my head. It may be confusing.
Be scared.
I apologize in advance if I offend anyone. I'm not really looking for critics of my beliefs or thoughts, although I welcome your thoughts if you'd like to share. I'm only sharing because I want to sort myself.
I would say emphatically that spirits are real. I've seen them. I know this sounds crazy and that I will likely lose some respect around quora for saying this. But I have. It's really that simple. I'm not going into the whole story at this point as some details are rather personal and to properly explain the story requires a boat load of back story that really isn't pertinent to the question at hand. There may be a time and place for it in another answer. I'm not even really sure where believing in spirits fits into my current worldview, but there you have it. I do.
I do not, however, believe in ghosts at all. I know, I know. This seems contradictory. It's not really, but I understand your thinking so. Ghosts, as I understand them, are supposed to be the spirits of departed people who for whatever reason (didn't "cross over," have "unfinished business," etc) still inhabit the earth in spirit form, invisible to most. I call baloney. People live and they die. Do I believe in a spirit? Yes. It either goes to God for judgement and lives in eternal bliss or damnation or dies with the body. I have yet to see any evidence to convince me otherwise. I do believe that malignant spirits could easily attempt to disguise themselves as ghosts in an attempt to lead those inclined into believing in them. Why would they do this? Well, in my former devout Christian life I would have said it was to lead them from the truth of the Gospel. Now? To misdirect them into a belief that is less than productive. If a person can be convinced to waste time on things that don't exist (or really matter) what in life are they not accomplishing? Could they have been the next Einstein, but for their lack of focus on the real world? I don't know.
At this point in my life, I'm no longer sure exactly what I believe about God and His plan (or the lack of god and any plan) for us. I've had some trauma that left me less than sure. I do know I'm not comfortable with atheism for myself although I'm comfortable if others wish to believe in no god(s) themselves. Who the hell am I to judge.
So to sum up my rambling: Spirits? Yes. I have no choice but to believe even if I'm not sure I should. Ghosts? Nope, sorry. As you can tell, my religious background and upbringing still heavily affects my views on the subject and I still have extreme difficulty sorting through what is truly my belief and what is simply indoctrination. I may come back later and update this answer as I see need. I may not and let it stand as a marker to my current state of thoughts. We'll see.
Be scared.
I apologize in advance if I offend anyone. I'm not really looking for critics of my beliefs or thoughts, although I welcome your thoughts if you'd like to share. I'm only sharing because I want to sort myself.
I would say emphatically that spirits are real. I've seen them. I know this sounds crazy and that I will likely lose some respect around quora for saying this. But I have. It's really that simple. I'm not going into the whole story at this point as some details are rather personal and to properly explain the story requires a boat load of back story that really isn't pertinent to the question at hand. There may be a time and place for it in another answer. I'm not even really sure where believing in spirits fits into my current worldview, but there you have it. I do.
I do not, however, believe in ghosts at all. I know, I know. This seems contradictory. It's not really, but I understand your thinking so. Ghosts, as I understand them, are supposed to be the spirits of departed people who for whatever reason (didn't "cross over," have "unfinished business," etc) still inhabit the earth in spirit form, invisible to most. I call baloney. People live and they die. Do I believe in a spirit? Yes. It either goes to God for judgement and lives in eternal bliss or damnation or dies with the body. I have yet to see any evidence to convince me otherwise. I do believe that malignant spirits could easily attempt to disguise themselves as ghosts in an attempt to lead those inclined into believing in them. Why would they do this? Well, in my former devout Christian life I would have said it was to lead them from the truth of the Gospel. Now? To misdirect them into a belief that is less than productive. If a person can be convinced to waste time on things that don't exist (or really matter) what in life are they not accomplishing? Could they have been the next Einstein, but for their lack of focus on the real world? I don't know.
At this point in my life, I'm no longer sure exactly what I believe about God and His plan (or the lack of god and any plan) for us. I've had some trauma that left me less than sure. I do know I'm not comfortable with atheism for myself although I'm comfortable if others wish to believe in no god(s) themselves. Who the hell am I to judge.
So to sum up my rambling: Spirits? Yes. I have no choice but to believe even if I'm not sure I should. Ghosts? Nope, sorry. As you can tell, my religious background and upbringing still heavily affects my views on the subject and I still have extreme difficulty sorting through what is truly my belief and what is simply indoctrination. I may come back later and update this answer as I see need. I may not and let it stand as a marker to my current state of thoughts. We'll see.
The mystery as to whether ghosts are real or not has always fascinated me. I have never been satisfied with the answer science seems to give which is that seeing or sensing ghosts is in our minds, and that when our brains die, we cease to think. However; how can a ghost come back to loved ones with messages or to help them cross over, if they no longer have thinking brains? How can they communicate to us or walk around without brains? The spirit world therefore may just be imaginary and something our brains convince us of.
I have had some very interesting experiences with sensing my dead brother's presence immediately after he died, and in younger years (around 7 or 8) actually hearing my name whispered twice while playing the piano as well as sounds in my room at night of people talking and music playing, not from the neighbors, but in my room. I would lay there paralyzed in fear, unable to move. When my brother died, I felt him there and actually got a few messages from him, not audibly but mentally. He said, "Wow this is really neat", he didn't remember he was ever sick at all, and then he hugged my mind where I felt like his ways of thinking and fun personality was put inside me for about 30 to 45 seconds. I felt like I was he in that moment. Then he did not say goodbye but he said he wouldn't be coming back. Then he left through a corner in my room. I was on the exercise bike when I experienced this. I saw nothing and heard nothing. Only felt it.
Now. Were these things I experienced real? Or was it my imagination. Was my brain so excellent that I vividly created these phenomenon? Or were these tangible spirit world experiences? I don't know.
I read a little bit about mass hysteria events of which there are several historical examples. One such example is the Dancing Plague the 15th century where 400 people were compelled to dance for days, some dancing to their very deaths. There are other such examples here:
Top 10 Bizarre Cases of Mass Hysteria - Listverse
Wikipedia describes a phenomenon called Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPA). People who mentally produce sickness symptoms which are real all deriving from unreal events. An interesting observation in the article is that women seem more vulnerable to these hysterias and sicknesses than men do.
Mass psychogenic illness
What do these articles have to do with this question? Only that people can make things up in their minds which produce seemingly physical results. Scientifically, how can our brains effect our bodies in this way to where we would get rashes and dizzy spells? Our brains can actually make us physically sick. Are female emotions geared in such a way that we can harness that power and make ourselves physically sick? Interesting to think about.
Even with no scientific evidence and events that can occur in our brains there are just too many personal experiences out there to ignore. There are countless experiences told on News and Events for the Nursing Industry of nurses seeing old patients that have passed on and patients who tell them their relatives have come to collect them. I just can't believe all these experiences are in the mind, or made up. The hospice my mother in law was in even put out a booklet on what family may expect as their loved one during the dieing process. One thing in the booklet is that some patients will start talking with dead friends and family.
There is too much out there on this phenomenon to readily dismiss it without further convincing through scientific and psychological study; however it is possible our minds make these things up.
Some will tell you they know what they saw was real. I know I would never want to see a ghost or a spirit and I hope I never do.
I have had some very interesting experiences with sensing my dead brother's presence immediately after he died, and in younger years (around 7 or 8) actually hearing my name whispered twice while playing the piano as well as sounds in my room at night of people talking and music playing, not from the neighbors, but in my room. I would lay there paralyzed in fear, unable to move. When my brother died, I felt him there and actually got a few messages from him, not audibly but mentally. He said, "Wow this is really neat", he didn't remember he was ever sick at all, and then he hugged my mind where I felt like his ways of thinking and fun personality was put inside me for about 30 to 45 seconds. I felt like I was he in that moment. Then he did not say goodbye but he said he wouldn't be coming back. Then he left through a corner in my room. I was on the exercise bike when I experienced this. I saw nothing and heard nothing. Only felt it.
Now. Were these things I experienced real? Or was it my imagination. Was my brain so excellent that I vividly created these phenomenon? Or were these tangible spirit world experiences? I don't know.
I read a little bit about mass hysteria events of which there are several historical examples. One such example is the Dancing Plague the 15th century where 400 people were compelled to dance for days, some dancing to their very deaths. There are other such examples here:
Top 10 Bizarre Cases of Mass Hysteria - Listverse
Wikipedia describes a phenomenon called Mass Psychogenic Illness (MPA). People who mentally produce sickness symptoms which are real all deriving from unreal events. An interesting observation in the article is that women seem more vulnerable to these hysterias and sicknesses than men do.
Mass psychogenic illness
What do these articles have to do with this question? Only that people can make things up in their minds which produce seemingly physical results. Scientifically, how can our brains effect our bodies in this way to where we would get rashes and dizzy spells? Our brains can actually make us physically sick. Are female emotions geared in such a way that we can harness that power and make ourselves physically sick? Interesting to think about.
Even with no scientific evidence and events that can occur in our brains there are just too many personal experiences out there to ignore. There are countless experiences told on News and Events for the Nursing Industry of nurses seeing old patients that have passed on and patients who tell them their relatives have come to collect them. I just can't believe all these experiences are in the mind, or made up. The hospice my mother in law was in even put out a booklet on what family may expect as their loved one during the dieing process. One thing in the booklet is that some patients will start talking with dead friends and family.
There is too much out there on this phenomenon to readily dismiss it without further convincing through scientific and psychological study; however it is possible our minds make these things up.
Some will tell you they know what they saw was real. I know I would never want to see a ghost or a spirit and I hope I never do.
So I'm curious, ( I'm still a bit of an agnostic but leaning towards belief), those of you who firmly do not believe in ghosts how do you explain the proofs of paranormal investigators. Are they all hoaxes? What do you call EVP's,( electronic voice phenomenon,)?
Is all the video evidence faked?
It's my opinion those who say ghost are not real are saying so more on a belief system than studying the evidence.
Strange things happen that are currently unexplained but show variables in temperature, electromagnetic fields and other data that could very well be ghosts or other types of beings. To deny ghosts out of hand is based more on ignorance than science.
Many paranormal investigators are using scientific methods to prove or disprove these phenomenons.
I feel we should at least keep an open mind.
Is all the video evidence faked?
It's my opinion those who say ghost are not real are saying so more on a belief system than studying the evidence.
Strange things happen that are currently unexplained but show variables in temperature, electromagnetic fields and other data that could very well be ghosts or other types of beings. To deny ghosts out of hand is based more on ignorance than science.
Many paranormal investigators are using scientific methods to prove or disprove these phenomenons.
I feel we should at least keep an open mind.
The belief in ghosts requires a belief in an aspect of existence that science is, so far, unable to access. To believe in ghosts, you have to believe there is a spiritual component to the universe.
Ghosts are possibly three things.
#1, The presence of a spiritual entity unable or unwilling to move to the proper dimension expected for all detached spiritual entities. Attached spiritual entities exist within all living structures and become detached once death occurs. Some of these detached spirits may not wish to leave the vicinity in which they now exist independently of any body. Or they are either confused or angry about the conditions that lead up to their demise. Often such detached spirits require guidance to reach the next plane of existence. However, there may be some of these spirits, so determined to acquire another body, that they will purloin one whenever possible.
#2. A "ghost" may be nothing more than an energy projection. A fantasy created out of the mind of the person envisioning it. Primarily a memory of any person or life form considered either highly valued or greatly feared.
#3. Ghosts do not exists in reality. However, what exists in the mind and reality are often very difficult to distinguish between.
Ghosts are possibly three things.
#1, The presence of a spiritual entity unable or unwilling to move to the proper dimension expected for all detached spiritual entities. Attached spiritual entities exist within all living structures and become detached once death occurs. Some of these detached spirits may not wish to leave the vicinity in which they now exist independently of any body. Or they are either confused or angry about the conditions that lead up to their demise. Often such detached spirits require guidance to reach the next plane of existence. However, there may be some of these spirits, so determined to acquire another body, that they will purloin one whenever possible.
#2. A "ghost" may be nothing more than an energy projection. A fantasy created out of the mind of the person envisioning it. Primarily a memory of any person or life form considered either highly valued or greatly feared.
#3. Ghosts do not exists in reality. However, what exists in the mind and reality are often very difficult to distinguish between.
I grew up in a religious family which believes in the existence of God and spirits both. But science and ghosts don't go hand in hand! I being the believer of science always doubted the existence of God and ghosts. Then moving out of my home for further studies and losing the home connection, I almost became an atheist. I didn't believe in either God or ghosts.
One night in hostel our discussion moved towards ghosts and I happen to mention the concept of planchette in the discussion. I always believed that it is some bull shit story. One of my friends happened to mention that he has done it and not only once but thrice and that he firmly believes in it. I was taken aback by this revelation. I challenged him right there that it its all fake and everything. The outcome of this discussion led to do it for ourselves and decide accordingly. We chose a date and venue and planned to do it.
Till the date of the event came, I tried to gather as much information as possible regarding the procedure. D - Day had come. We met at the place. We had made an Ouija board with A-Z, 0-9 written on the border of the card sheet and in the centre made a circle of the size of a bottle cap. On both the sides of the circle we wrote 'Yes' and 'No'. We took a 2 rupee coin placed it at the centre and placed the bottle cap above it. We lit four candles and placed them at the corners. We decided that only person will interact and all of us were quiet. It was 12:30 am and we started. We just thought of a general 'good' spirit to come and talk with us. Also, all of us had placed our fore fingers on the cap. Also, we had placed a drawing board, the ones used for engineering drawing below the card sheet to ensure a flat surface and see that there is no magnetic influence. We sat there for about 20 min nothing happened.
At 1:00 am we shifted the venue slightly and started again. Followed the same procedure, the guy who was entrusted to interact was continuously asking question, "Kya tum aa gayi ho?" (Have you come?). I knew that it was all futile and useless. But suddenly to my surprise, the coin/plastic cap started moving to the 'Yes' side. And it was moving at a pretty good speed.
We started the Q&A and asked various questions. Some of the questions where like "What would be the first letter of my gf?" :P and "What would be our first salary?" and general stuff. We had even asked "Who will be the next Prime Minister of India?" (This was in 2013) and to my utter disbelief, we got answers to each and every question. The coin was moving at a very fast speed! And the answers were very random. The session lasted for about 20 min and we ended it. Then there was another session and again it lasted for 20 min and then the answers for every question was coming to be a 'No'. We got the cue and asked "Do you further want to answer our questions?" The reply was again 'No'. We told the spirit to leave and asked the question "Have you left?" Three times it moved to 'No' and for the fourth time it just stopped moving.
I was in utter disbelief to what I had witnessed in the last one hour. I could not find any scientific reason that could explain what had happened. Science tells that it is due to Ideomotor Phenomenon. It explains that ideas govern our actions without the person consciously deciding to do it. But it doesn't explain why all the persons sitting there will move their fingers towards a random letter. For e.g. the answer to the question "What would be the first letter of my gf?" was the letter "G" and how would others know it?
P.S. I don't have a girl friend. It was very random.
The only logical explanation is that spirits do exist. They exist in a different dimension but can make contacts with us using electromagnetic waves.
So, yes I do believe in the existence of spirits.
P.S. Please don't try doing the above procedure as it is very risky!
One night in hostel our discussion moved towards ghosts and I happen to mention the concept of planchette in the discussion. I always believed that it is some bull shit story. One of my friends happened to mention that he has done it and not only once but thrice and that he firmly believes in it. I was taken aback by this revelation. I challenged him right there that it its all fake and everything. The outcome of this discussion led to do it for ourselves and decide accordingly. We chose a date and venue and planned to do it.
Till the date of the event came, I tried to gather as much information as possible regarding the procedure. D - Day had come. We met at the place. We had made an Ouija board with A-Z, 0-9 written on the border of the card sheet and in the centre made a circle of the size of a bottle cap. On both the sides of the circle we wrote 'Yes' and 'No'. We took a 2 rupee coin placed it at the centre and placed the bottle cap above it. We lit four candles and placed them at the corners. We decided that only person will interact and all of us were quiet. It was 12:30 am and we started. We just thought of a general 'good' spirit to come and talk with us. Also, all of us had placed our fore fingers on the cap. Also, we had placed a drawing board, the ones used for engineering drawing below the card sheet to ensure a flat surface and see that there is no magnetic influence. We sat there for about 20 min nothing happened.
At 1:00 am we shifted the venue slightly and started again. Followed the same procedure, the guy who was entrusted to interact was continuously asking question, "Kya tum aa gayi ho?" (Have you come?). I knew that it was all futile and useless. But suddenly to my surprise, the coin/plastic cap started moving to the 'Yes' side. And it was moving at a pretty good speed.
We started the Q&A and asked various questions. Some of the questions where like "What would be the first letter of my gf?" :P and "What would be our first salary?" and general stuff. We had even asked "Who will be the next Prime Minister of India?" (This was in 2013) and to my utter disbelief, we got answers to each and every question. The coin was moving at a very fast speed! And the answers were very random. The session lasted for about 20 min and we ended it. Then there was another session and again it lasted for 20 min and then the answers for every question was coming to be a 'No'. We got the cue and asked "Do you further want to answer our questions?" The reply was again 'No'. We told the spirit to leave and asked the question "Have you left?" Three times it moved to 'No' and for the fourth time it just stopped moving.
I was in utter disbelief to what I had witnessed in the last one hour. I could not find any scientific reason that could explain what had happened. Science tells that it is due to Ideomotor Phenomenon. It explains that ideas govern our actions without the person consciously deciding to do it. But it doesn't explain why all the persons sitting there will move their fingers towards a random letter. For e.g. the answer to the question "What would be the first letter of my gf?" was the letter "G" and how would others know it?
P.S. I don't have a girl friend. It was very random.
The only logical explanation is that spirits do exist. They exist in a different dimension but can make contacts with us using electromagnetic waves.
So, yes I do believe in the existence of spirits.
P.S. Please don't try doing the above procedure as it is very risky!
There was a time when I was seeing ghost mice, scrambling across the ceiling at night, across moldings, window sills. It was always creepy. And after a while came the shadow cats, waiting, stalking. It just so happened that this was the most stressful, horrible time of my life. I was living in the wrong place, with the wrong people, and it was wrecking me in ways I didn't realize.
Once I got out of there (which wasn't easy) the days got brighter and the mice and cats never came back.
In other words... ghosts are false creations proceeding from a heat oppressed brain, but since the brain is the same thing we experience everything else with, they carry a certain weight.
Once I got out of there (which wasn't easy) the days got brighter and the mice and cats never came back.
In other words... ghosts are false creations proceeding from a heat oppressed brain, but since the brain is the same thing we experience everything else with, they carry a certain weight.
What's really interesting about this question is that you don't need postulate any new physics, or anything else, for that matter, for ghosts to exist, you just have to recognize and accept that fact that the body of science isn't complete. Or, to put it another way, "science doesn't know everything." Just have a look at what we have already: There is "dark matter," something nobody's ever seen or detected, despite over 100 years of looking, yet scientists say makes up over 90% of the universe. You and me included. Also, thanks to quantum mechanics, we have particles that behave like naughty children, doing one thing when you're "watching" and something quite different when you're not. (Double slit experiment:
)
The debate is still raging about what it means that you can change the outcome of a physics experiment simply by observing it. I mean, how do the particles "know" that you are looking at them anyway? Isn't that a case of human minds directly influencing matter, i.e. a "psychic power?" If not, why not?
Getting back to ghosts. What are ghosts? A common definition is that they are some form of consciousness, disconnected from a material body. Millions of people around the world claim to seeing or interacting with spirits every day, so there plenty of empirical evidence that they exist. However, it is all subjective, and there is no, really good, object evidence, so far. (Before you say "Ah ha! If it was there they would have found it by now!" Remember, they have been looking for Dark Matter for 100 years, have not found anything, yet it's still respectable to spend millions of dollars on experiments looking for it.)
Now, before you declare victory for the materialists, consider this: There is no hard, objective, evidence that consciousness exists. Yup, there is a group of respected scientists that believe the consciousness does not exist, and the thing that you call "consciousness" is merely an illusion. (Hard problem of consciousness) Even among those who agree that consciousness exists, nobody knows what it is. Since we can't detect it or measure it in any way, we have no way of knowing if consciousness is dependent on the brain or not. Thus we have the two main models: Brain as Generator and brain as Phone.
Brain as Generator says that the physical brain generates consciousness. Brain as phone says that the physical brain acts like a cell phone, a conduit through which the "spirit" interacts with the physical world. These two models are debated, but the phone model not given much credence. All the evidence that I can find for the Generator point of view, consists of noticing that damaging or stimulating various parts of the brain effect perception and consciousness, (Researchers May Have Discovered The Consciousness On/Off Switch) and saying that demonstrates that consciousness is created within the brain. On the other hand, is someone out there willing to argue that messing with the inside of your cell phone, so that it doesn't work so well, or not at all, proves that the voices, texts and internet content it displays are generated within the phone? If not, then the Generator model has no evidence at all.
The empirical evidence implies that consciousness survives death and does not need a physical brain to exist. (i.e. "ghosts") But we're not likely to find out more than that anytime soon, because the real question is, why is it considered rational and scientific, to ignore the vast body of empirical evidence, and ridicule anyone who attempts to do serious research in that area, in favor of a position that, admittedly, has no evidence, even anecdotal, to support it's position?
)
The debate is still raging about what it means that you can change the outcome of a physics experiment simply by observing it. I mean, how do the particles "know" that you are looking at them anyway? Isn't that a case of human minds directly influencing matter, i.e. a "psychic power?" If not, why not?
Getting back to ghosts. What are ghosts? A common definition is that they are some form of consciousness, disconnected from a material body. Millions of people around the world claim to seeing or interacting with spirits every day, so there plenty of empirical evidence that they exist. However, it is all subjective, and there is no, really good, object evidence, so far. (Before you say "Ah ha! If it was there they would have found it by now!" Remember, they have been looking for Dark Matter for 100 years, have not found anything, yet it's still respectable to spend millions of dollars on experiments looking for it.)
Now, before you declare victory for the materialists, consider this: There is no hard, objective, evidence that consciousness exists. Yup, there is a group of respected scientists that believe the consciousness does not exist, and the thing that you call "consciousness" is merely an illusion. (Hard problem of consciousness) Even among those who agree that consciousness exists, nobody knows what it is. Since we can't detect it or measure it in any way, we have no way of knowing if consciousness is dependent on the brain or not. Thus we have the two main models: Brain as Generator and brain as Phone.
Brain as Generator says that the physical brain generates consciousness. Brain as phone says that the physical brain acts like a cell phone, a conduit through which the "spirit" interacts with the physical world. These two models are debated, but the phone model not given much credence. All the evidence that I can find for the Generator point of view, consists of noticing that damaging or stimulating various parts of the brain effect perception and consciousness, (Researchers May Have Discovered The Consciousness On/Off Switch) and saying that demonstrates that consciousness is created within the brain. On the other hand, is someone out there willing to argue that messing with the inside of your cell phone, so that it doesn't work so well, or not at all, proves that the voices, texts and internet content it displays are generated within the phone? If not, then the Generator model has no evidence at all.
The empirical evidence implies that consciousness survives death and does not need a physical brain to exist. (i.e. "ghosts") But we're not likely to find out more than that anytime soon, because the real question is, why is it considered rational and scientific, to ignore the vast body of empirical evidence, and ridicule anyone who attempts to do serious research in that area, in favor of a position that, admittedly, has no evidence, even anecdotal, to support it's position?
No, they do not.
This is one of those things that really requires the claimants to prove its existence before any rational discussion of the matter can be established. To date, despite millions of years of human existence and the human race’s ability to discern numerous types of phenomenon, nothing has ever been presented which makes the belief in ghosts to be anything other than deception, self-delusion or some combination of the two.
Several items:
1) There have been as many as 50-55 billion human beings who have lived or are living on Earth - Even if only a tiny fraction of them had been somehow “transformed” into becoming ghosts, that number would be in the hundreds of thousands. That number would be far too high for ghosts themselves to be a rare or under-observed phenomenon.
2) There has never been any proof presented that human life extends beyond the physical death of the body - Considering that this would be one of the cornerstones of human philosophy, proving this would be paramount. The failure to prove this almost certainly means that there really is nothing to prove.
3) Without exception, every so-called clairvoyant or psychic who claims to be in contact with the dead has proven to a charlatan or self-deluded - If we are to presuppose that ghosts do exist, at least one of those people would have to be have been proven to be legitimate.
While it always possible that ghosts could be “proven” to exist at some point in the future, as human scientific knowledge increases, the likelihood of that occurring is decreasing exponentially.
This is one of those things that really requires the claimants to prove its existence before any rational discussion of the matter can be established. To date, despite millions of years of human existence and the human race’s ability to discern numerous types of phenomenon, nothing has ever been presented which makes the belief in ghosts to be anything other than deception, self-delusion or some combination of the two.
Several items:
1) There have been as many as 50-55 billion human beings who have lived or are living on Earth - Even if only a tiny fraction of them had been somehow “transformed” into becoming ghosts, that number would be in the hundreds of thousands. That number would be far too high for ghosts themselves to be a rare or under-observed phenomenon.
2) There has never been any proof presented that human life extends beyond the physical death of the body - Considering that this would be one of the cornerstones of human philosophy, proving this would be paramount. The failure to prove this almost certainly means that there really is nothing to prove.
3) Without exception, every so-called clairvoyant or psychic who claims to be in contact with the dead has proven to a charlatan or self-deluded - If we are to presuppose that ghosts do exist, at least one of those people would have to be have been proven to be legitimate.
While it always possible that ghosts could be “proven” to exist at some point in the future, as human scientific knowledge increases, the likelihood of that occurring is decreasing exponentially.
Yes, they do...
...as artifacts of the biological machine in your head.
Besides the philosophical and scientific absurdities they would represent if physically extant, we already have a pretty good idea of all the little idiosyncrasies and flaws of human psychology and neurology that produce the effects attributed to hauntings.
There is no reason to multiply entities (i.e., violate Occam's razor) by positing a separate spiritual substance and a whole new realm of physics when we already have a sufficient description (that is testable and falsifiable, might I add).
...as artifacts of the biological machine in your head.
Besides the philosophical and scientific absurdities they would represent if physically extant, we already have a pretty good idea of all the little idiosyncrasies and flaws of human psychology and neurology that produce the effects attributed to hauntings.
There is no reason to multiply entities (i.e., violate Occam's razor) by positing a separate spiritual substance and a whole new realm of physics when we already have a sufficient description (that is testable and falsifiable, might I add).
A2A
Ghosts live to tell a tale. I have never heard a ghost story that didn't have a point. Their intangibility is the very thing that makes them real to us as ghosts. If they were tangible they would be something else. What gives them reality is our willingness to be enrobed in their story.
So are they physical entities that we can weigh, measure and detect? No. Are they occupants of our broader sense of self, inhabitants of our memories and imagination? I would argue that they are as real as our dreams and for many of us, "We are such stuff as dreams are made on..."
Ghosts live to tell a tale. I have never heard a ghost story that didn't have a point. Their intangibility is the very thing that makes them real to us as ghosts. If they were tangible they would be something else. What gives them reality is our willingness to be enrobed in their story.
So are they physical entities that we can weigh, measure and detect? No. Are they occupants of our broader sense of self, inhabitants of our memories and imagination? I would argue that they are as real as our dreams and for many of us, "We are such stuff as dreams are made on..."
Well its my personal experience on a recent Camping trip to Rishikesh.
Since it was our last year, we friends decided to go over to Rishikesh during the Holi break. So we booked our camp and zoomed off.
It was a beautiful location sandwiched between Breathtaking Mountains and Awe-inspiring crystal clear river Ganga. They had various tents installed there with two beds each, so me and a friend Shubham chose the last, corner most of them. As we entered everything about it was perfect, two beds, windows, the tent could be zipped in from inside and so could not be accessed from outside,the only strange thing was some protruding from the carpet underneath, seemed to me a stone some 1 ft tall, but we decided to avoid it. Also Shubham's bedsheet had a small heap of sand which he just cleared off. So we unpacked, changed and went for the lunch.
Now as we returned, we saw the bedsheet was a bit messy and there was again a small heap of sand on Shubham's bed. We assumed some friend is messing with us so cleared it and simply laughed off.
In the evening we went for trekking and as we returned, again the heap of sand. Still we avoided and went for the dinner. Thereafter we spent our time nearby river-shore gossiping for long hours. Now since it was late almost 12:30 and I was deadly tired, so me and Shubham headed back for the hut, went in, zipped down the tent from inside, took the blanket and just slept off.
(NOTE: Now I am a kind of person who once slept, is almost impossible to wake up. People have tried various aggressive and different means but have returned disappointed each and every time. My Parents and Friends can provide the testimony for the same.. :P )
Ok so now while am asleep, something suddenly wakes me up, somebody is pulling my blanket..!! :O.
I opened my eyes slightly and through the corner of my eyes, had a look and find Shubham is asleep in his bed, yet in the dark I can see a figure close to my bed too. Knowing the tent was locked from inside, I was too scared and terrified to say the least..
Somehow I managed to gather some courage and very slowly and steadily tugged in the blanket under my body from sides and bottom, then slowly hid my face under the blanket too. But too my terror the tugging of blanket was still there, I was now fully concious and someone was definitely pulling my blanket away. I, with all my strength was holding the blanket with whatever means I had, determined not to face the Figure (whatever that thing was), but after some 5-6 mins of our little tugging war, it suddenly stopped.
I was even more scared now, sweating heavily and waiting for him to make the final move/ Assault, but nothing happened. Every minute was like a passing hour, I simply was clueless of what to do.
After waiting endlessly for around half an hour or so,
Shubham whispered "Rahul".
I instantly said: "Haa Bol".
Shubham: "You're awake??
Me: "helll Yes"
Shubham: "So why are you making so much noise.??"
Me: "I have been lying here quietly scared for past half an hour, what noise are you talking about..??" :O
Shubham: I have been hearing strange sounds, thought it was you, so called out your name, didn't expected you to reciprocate though. o.O
I quicky uncovered my face, had a cautious look if the figure was still there,Absolutely Nothing, The tent was still zipped from inside, I had heard no sounds, so where was it then. I quickly got up and asked Shubham if it was him.?
He didn't understand, then I narrated the entire incident, he was equally scared. Said " I swear I just got up 5-10 mins back because of the noise, I thought it was you."
But I didn't utter a word or anything, neither did I hear any..
We again checked, the tent was packed, nobody was there, except for some sand on Shubham's bed.. xO
We quickly cleared it off, and joined our beds, remained awake for sometime, didn't knew what to do so silently fell off to sleep.. Nothing happened that night.
Next up in the Morning we went for breakfast, and as we returned.... YES THE SAND HEAP yet again.
We wasted no time then, just picked up our bags and shifted to a different tent altogether. We inquired from the Manager if there was any special past about that hut, he simply denied..
We did spend 1 more day at the camp, but the tent, that remained isolated thereafter..
Well, It was surely not my friend as I saw him sleeping, definitely not a rat or such animal as I witnessed the shadow close to me and the force was much more than it could have applied.
P.S.:
I just don't know what it was, all I know is it did scared the hell out of me.. :/
Since it was our last year, we friends decided to go over to Rishikesh during the Holi break. So we booked our camp and zoomed off.
It was a beautiful location sandwiched between Breathtaking Mountains and Awe-inspiring crystal clear river Ganga. They had various tents installed there with two beds each, so me and a friend Shubham chose the last, corner most of them. As we entered everything about it was perfect, two beds, windows, the tent could be zipped in from inside and so could not be accessed from outside,the only strange thing was some protruding from the carpet underneath, seemed to me a stone some 1 ft tall, but we decided to avoid it. Also Shubham's bedsheet had a small heap of sand which he just cleared off. So we unpacked, changed and went for the lunch.
Now as we returned, we saw the bedsheet was a bit messy and there was again a small heap of sand on Shubham's bed. We assumed some friend is messing with us so cleared it and simply laughed off.
In the evening we went for trekking and as we returned, again the heap of sand. Still we avoided and went for the dinner. Thereafter we spent our time nearby river-shore gossiping for long hours. Now since it was late almost 12:30 and I was deadly tired, so me and Shubham headed back for the hut, went in, zipped down the tent from inside, took the blanket and just slept off.
(NOTE: Now I am a kind of person who once slept, is almost impossible to wake up. People have tried various aggressive and different means but have returned disappointed each and every time. My Parents and Friends can provide the testimony for the same.. :P )
Ok so now while am asleep, something suddenly wakes me up, somebody is pulling my blanket..!! :O.
I opened my eyes slightly and through the corner of my eyes, had a look and find Shubham is asleep in his bed, yet in the dark I can see a figure close to my bed too. Knowing the tent was locked from inside, I was too scared and terrified to say the least..
Somehow I managed to gather some courage and very slowly and steadily tugged in the blanket under my body from sides and bottom, then slowly hid my face under the blanket too. But too my terror the tugging of blanket was still there, I was now fully concious and someone was definitely pulling my blanket away. I, with all my strength was holding the blanket with whatever means I had, determined not to face the Figure (whatever that thing was), but after some 5-6 mins of our little tugging war, it suddenly stopped.
I was even more scared now, sweating heavily and waiting for him to make the final move/ Assault, but nothing happened. Every minute was like a passing hour, I simply was clueless of what to do.
After waiting endlessly for around half an hour or so,
Shubham whispered "Rahul".
I instantly said: "Haa Bol".
Shubham: "You're awake??
Me: "helll Yes"
Shubham: "So why are you making so much noise.??"
Me: "I have been lying here quietly scared for past half an hour, what noise are you talking about..??" :O
Shubham: I have been hearing strange sounds, thought it was you, so called out your name, didn't expected you to reciprocate though. o.O
I quicky uncovered my face, had a cautious look if the figure was still there,Absolutely Nothing, The tent was still zipped from inside, I had heard no sounds, so where was it then. I quickly got up and asked Shubham if it was him.?
He didn't understand, then I narrated the entire incident, he was equally scared. Said " I swear I just got up 5-10 mins back because of the noise, I thought it was you."
But I didn't utter a word or anything, neither did I hear any..
We again checked, the tent was packed, nobody was there, except for some sand on Shubham's bed.. xO
We quickly cleared it off, and joined our beds, remained awake for sometime, didn't knew what to do so silently fell off to sleep.. Nothing happened that night.
Next up in the Morning we went for breakfast, and as we returned.... YES THE SAND HEAP yet again.
We wasted no time then, just picked up our bags and shifted to a different tent altogether. We inquired from the Manager if there was any special past about that hut, he simply denied..
We did spend 1 more day at the camp, but the tent, that remained isolated thereafter..
Well, It was surely not my friend as I saw him sleeping, definitely not a rat or such animal as I witnessed the shadow close to me and the force was much more than it could have applied.
P.S.:
I just don't know what it was, all I know is it did scared the hell out of me.. :/
Ghosts, I believe are mere manifestations of the mind's fantasies and have no existence in realms of science. Their existence can be disproved, or atleast rebutted on two grounds.
Scientific: Any object, entity or whatever, in order to be seen, needs to possess mass. Why? We see things because light bounces off from the object and reaches our eyes. For "bouncing", light "photons" need to collide with something. And by elementary physics, it can be proved that the object needs to have a mass, in order to cause something to deflect. So? So, any thing that has mass cant levitate unless a force manages to counteract its weight. And hence, the ghost will be doing work against gravity, or expending energy to do this action if it moves or floats as people report. So, if ghost is that energy, it should eventually deplete and fade off.
Psychological: Why is every ghost a lady in white with long hair, or a beheaded person, etc? Ever heard of a cat ghost or a spirit of a sunflower or amoeba souls taking revenge on humans for making vaccinations? We project our ideas the way we would be most afraid of. Fear is a form of entertainment. That explains why people are so crazy about some spooky movies. Even in real life, we like to be frightened, making stories that are divine or spooky, either way. Hence ghosts merely lie in the mind, made up of your thoughts only..
Scientific: Any object, entity or whatever, in order to be seen, needs to possess mass. Why? We see things because light bounces off from the object and reaches our eyes. For "bouncing", light "photons" need to collide with something. And by elementary physics, it can be proved that the object needs to have a mass, in order to cause something to deflect. So? So, any thing that has mass cant levitate unless a force manages to counteract its weight. And hence, the ghost will be doing work against gravity, or expending energy to do this action if it moves or floats as people report. So, if ghost is that energy, it should eventually deplete and fade off.
Psychological: Why is every ghost a lady in white with long hair, or a beheaded person, etc? Ever heard of a cat ghost or a spirit of a sunflower or amoeba souls taking revenge on humans for making vaccinations? We project our ideas the way we would be most afraid of. Fear is a form of entertainment. That explains why people are so crazy about some spooky movies. Even in real life, we like to be frightened, making stories that are divine or spooky, either way. Hence ghosts merely lie in the mind, made up of your thoughts only..
When I see a show where a "paranormal investigator" is communicating with a spirit or ghost with the always available EVP thing, I always envision the person in the current time bothering a person from the past who may have lived in the space and trying to find the voice who is trying to talk to them. So you would have a conversation that went, "who are you and are you dead?" ..."who are YOU? I barely hear you and you're scaring the hell out of me"! Of course the Paranormal investigator is only getting bits of the conversation, we ARE talking space and time continuum here (there has to be a lot of transmission interference), I think it would make a good sci-fi premise.
I have had two experiences with them.
The first one was when I was an infant, and my grandmother's ghost appeared to my mother. She woke up to see her mother (who had passed away 12 years prior) sitting on the foot of her bed, urging her to check the baby (me). She ran across the hall, and saw that I was starting to turn blue, as I had wound my blankie around my neck in my sleep. She undid the blankie, picked me up, and called the doctor. She thinks the weirdest part is that my grandmother's ghost spoke to her in English, which is a language she did not ever know.
The second one was when I was pregnant with my second daughter, we had one in our house, and I think we still might. I would get hit with random cold drafts, and my shoes would be missing. I mean we would ransack our house and not be able to find them, and then I'd have to buy new shoes. I went to the local withcraft store, and bought crystals and herbs to cleanse the house with. I put them down on my dresser, waiting to show my husband. By the time he got home, they were gone. We never found any trace of the crystals and herbs, but found my shoes (years later), locked in an old foot locker. It was very strange.
The first one was when I was an infant, and my grandmother's ghost appeared to my mother. She woke up to see her mother (who had passed away 12 years prior) sitting on the foot of her bed, urging her to check the baby (me). She ran across the hall, and saw that I was starting to turn blue, as I had wound my blankie around my neck in my sleep. She undid the blankie, picked me up, and called the doctor. She thinks the weirdest part is that my grandmother's ghost spoke to her in English, which is a language she did not ever know.
The second one was when I was pregnant with my second daughter, we had one in our house, and I think we still might. I would get hit with random cold drafts, and my shoes would be missing. I mean we would ransack our house and not be able to find them, and then I'd have to buy new shoes. I went to the local withcraft store, and bought crystals and herbs to cleanse the house with. I put them down on my dresser, waiting to show my husband. By the time he got home, they were gone. We never found any trace of the crystals and herbs, but found my shoes (years later), locked in an old foot locker. It was very strange.
Theres evidence that ..."ghostly..." experiences are caused by sleep paralysis in the REM stage of sleeping. http://en.wikipedia.org/w
Richard Wiseman has also conducted an experiment which concluded that infrasound, or low-frequency waves can induce the strange feelings often associated with the presence of a ghost.
http://www.brudirect.com/
Richard Wiseman has also conducted an experiment which concluded that infrasound, or low-frequency waves can induce the strange feelings often associated with the presence of a ghost.
http://www.brudirect.com/
The question contains a false dichotomy.
There is no evidence that ghosts or devils have ever existed. There are mountains of evidence that they are the product of brain activity such as dreams, hypnogogia, illusions, hallucinations, pareidolia, etc. That's not counting the ones that are simply frauds and myths.
While it's possible to induce "religious experiences" by stimulating the brain with strong, directed magnetic fields, this does not occur outside of laboratory situations.
There is no evidence that ghosts or devils have ever existed. There are mountains of evidence that they are the product of brain activity such as dreams, hypnogogia, illusions, hallucinations, pareidolia, etc. That's not counting the ones that are simply frauds and myths.
While it's possible to induce "religious experiences" by stimulating the brain with strong, directed magnetic fields, this does not occur outside of laboratory situations.
This is a leading question...that aside, ghosts are not real. If ghosts were real and anything like what people who believe in them claim, we could prove they are real. But none of those claims bear fruit and careful examination of ghostly claims inevitably turn up nothing. My advice? Move on. There are myriad interesting real things to investigate.
I grew up in a Welsh farmhouse that was a mile from the nearest neighbour.
When I was nine years old, a ghost opened the (just previously closed) door to my temporary downstairs bedroom. (I'd gone for a midnight pee, then closed it.) I screamed and screamed. It disappeared. I ran through the open door then upstairs and refused to return to the room. My parents set up a temporary camp bed in my sister’s room. The cat on my sister’s bed became disgruntled with the commotion, so trip-trapped down our wooden stairs to find a new snoozing place.
Right underneath my sister’s room, in the room where the ghost had appeared, we heard the cat hiss as if it was being stalked by a spitting cobra. We heard it race back up the stairs and it jumped back onto my sister’s bed. All the hair on its back, tail and neck was standing on end as if it had stuck its tongue in a live electrical socket. (There were no circuit breakers back then.)
Over the next ten years, my sister and my grandmother saw the same ghost.
My brother has seen at least two ghosts that match up to reported hauntings of which he was not previously aware. One of these was a man he saw several times on a family holiday when he was four years old. And I know one other person who, very believably, shared their first hand experience of a ghost with me.
So I believe in ghosts. I’ve got no idea what they are – and, as an atheist, believe they are the result of some unknown scientific phenomena rather than anything to do with an afterlife or religious code.
When I was nine years old, a ghost opened the (just previously closed) door to my temporary downstairs bedroom. (I'd gone for a midnight pee, then closed it.) I screamed and screamed. It disappeared. I ran through the open door then upstairs and refused to return to the room. My parents set up a temporary camp bed in my sister’s room. The cat on my sister’s bed became disgruntled with the commotion, so trip-trapped down our wooden stairs to find a new snoozing place.
Right underneath my sister’s room, in the room where the ghost had appeared, we heard the cat hiss as if it was being stalked by a spitting cobra. We heard it race back up the stairs and it jumped back onto my sister’s bed. All the hair on its back, tail and neck was standing on end as if it had stuck its tongue in a live electrical socket. (There were no circuit breakers back then.)
Over the next ten years, my sister and my grandmother saw the same ghost.
My brother has seen at least two ghosts that match up to reported hauntings of which he was not previously aware. One of these was a man he saw several times on a family holiday when he was four years old. And I know one other person who, very believably, shared their first hand experience of a ghost with me.
So I believe in ghosts. I’ve got no idea what they are – and, as an atheist, believe they are the result of some unknown scientific phenomena rather than anything to do with an afterlife or religious code.
No.
Long answer: word "ghost" is ambiguous. What is a ghost? Your lost soul after your death? Some extraterrestrial creature? Devil / demon? "Energy"? Whatever it is, all explanations I have involve "supernatural" beings that require suspension of science. And once you have suspended science, you cannot really have scientific explanation.
Long answer: word "ghost" is ambiguous. What is a ghost? Your lost soul after your death? Some extraterrestrial creature? Devil / demon? "Energy"? Whatever it is, all explanations I have involve "supernatural" beings that require suspension of science. And once you have suspended science, you cannot really have scientific explanation.
NO - there are no ghosts!
Let's see: People report their "ghost experiences" because they are convinced that they saw / met / interacted with a ghost. But have you noticed, the experience occurs usually at night (or late evening) and in a lonely place - more often than not in or near a cemetary and when the person is alone!
To the best of my knowledge, (a) there are no reports of "ghost experiences" during daytime (between 8.00 AM and 6.00 PM) (b) Ghosts never appear before a group of people.
A GHOST is defined as the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Fine.
This means, a ghost is invincible. We can not catch it, hurt it in any way, or kill it. Therefore, ghosts need not be afraid of humans or anything else!
If you accept that, then, have you heard any report/s of a ghost appearing in a public place - say, the TAJ MAHAL - at noon time when there are a lot of tourists walking about? Ghosts can play merry hell with us anytime and anywhere without any fear! They can appear anywhere, at any time.
Please understand, WE SEE ONLY WHAT WE WANT TO SEE! Therefore, if someone is convinced that there are ghosts, he/she begins to "see" it, but only when he/she is alone, and in the dark.
Let's see: People report their "ghost experiences" because they are convinced that they saw / met / interacted with a ghost. But have you noticed, the experience occurs usually at night (or late evening) and in a lonely place - more often than not in or near a cemetary and when the person is alone!
To the best of my knowledge, (a) there are no reports of "ghost experiences" during daytime (between 8.00 AM and 6.00 PM) (b) Ghosts never appear before a group of people.
A GHOST is defined as the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Fine.
This means, a ghost is invincible. We can not catch it, hurt it in any way, or kill it. Therefore, ghosts need not be afraid of humans or anything else!
If you accept that, then, have you heard any report/s of a ghost appearing in a public place - say, the TAJ MAHAL - at noon time when there are a lot of tourists walking about? Ghosts can play merry hell with us anytime and anywhere without any fear! They can appear anywhere, at any time.
Please understand, WE SEE ONLY WHAT WE WANT TO SEE! Therefore, if someone is convinced that there are ghosts, he/she begins to "see" it, but only when he/she is alone, and in the dark.
I would answer that question in several parts. Is their definitive scientific proof ghosts exist? No. Ghosts are only a subjective experience / theory, thus the lack of scientific proof. It is very hard to prove such a thing as ghosts when lacking a definitive definition for ghosts. Some people believe ghosts are intelligent spirits from the grave while others believe ghosts are visual imprints of past events replaying over and over. People of Religious backgrounds can only support a belief in Demonic presences as the bible does not support the idea of ghosts. Another trial for the paranormal community, is the lack of a unifying scientific way to actually observe and record haunted paranormal.
If you're a believer in haunted paranormal please read on. 48% Nearly half of Americans say they believe in ghosts, or that the dead can return in certain places and situations. http://www.cbsnews.com/st
"Spooky action at a distance," --a phrase used by Einstein in criticizing the phenomenon of Quantum Mechanics. The key word here is "phenomenon." http://www.definitions.ne
I do believe in ghosts, however I don't subscribe to the fact that they are the spirits of the deceased. More than likely quantum mechanics and ghosts share a lot in common.
If you're a believer in haunted paranormal please read on. 48% Nearly half of Americans say they believe in ghosts, or that the dead can return in certain places and situations. http://www.cbsnews.com/st
"Spooky action at a distance," --a phrase used by Einstein in criticizing the phenomenon of Quantum Mechanics. The key word here is "phenomenon." http://www.definitions.ne
"Alice's Wonderland had nothing on quantum physics, which describes a bizarre state of matter and energy. Not only can the same atom exist in two locations at once, but merely attempting to observe a particle will alter its properties. Perhaps least intuitive is the characteristic called entanglement. As described by quantum mechanics, it means that two entangled particles can keep tabs on each other no matter how far apart they are. Physicists have been trying for decades to determine whether this property is real and what might cause it?. In the process, they've uncovered evidence for it but not much about its properties" source http://news.sciencemag.orI won't go into further detail but here is a synopsis http://en.wikipedia.org/wg/scien...
I do believe in ghosts, however I don't subscribe to the fact that they are the spirits of the deceased. More than likely quantum mechanics and ghosts share a lot in common.
There is no physical evidence that sensibly suggests that paranormal phenomena like spirits 'exist' in terms of being present in the physical world.
However, there are two important counterpoints to this:
However, there are two important counterpoints to this:
- falsifiability of the opposite position: there is also little physical evidence that these phenomena do not or cannot exist (especially taking into account the limitations of measurement and information processing in reference to the multiple dimensions that are implicit in respectable scientific theories, such as the math's required to make string theory etc work).
- Just because something doesn't 'exist' in terms of having a measurable physical presence doesn't mean that they don't 'exist' in some other way, i.e. things can exist in experiential terms while not existing as a physical quality or quantity; they can also 'exist' conceptually, in abstract, even if they have no physical or experiential quality (I suggest prime numbers as an example).
Little mentioned fact: The Wright brothers struggled for years to get people to believe that they could fly.
The growing body of documentation on NDEs (Near death experiences) strongly suggests that something is going on here. Google NDE and see if you are comfortable dismissing all the evidence and personal experiences of doctors and nurses as delusions or lies.
These experiences seem to show the consciousness can exist outside of the body, which opens the door to a whole bunch of possibilities. Before science can disprove these possibilities, it first must define consciousness in a way that can be detected and measured, which it has not done. Therefore, a rational man cannot make any definite statement about what consciousness can or cannot be capable of. And you never know, any day now some researcher could announce the discovery of an objective way of detecting consciousness inside and outside of the body, and these questions would finally be answered, once and for all.
If you wish to believe in spirits, you have ample anecdotal evidence for that position. If not, nothing will change your mind. Just look at how hard the creationists are fighting to get their views accepted as fact. The thing is, the number of people who believe or don't believe in something has no bering on whether it's true or not, so feel free to pick whatever position you want.
The growing body of documentation on NDEs (Near death experiences) strongly suggests that something is going on here. Google NDE and see if you are comfortable dismissing all the evidence and personal experiences of doctors and nurses as delusions or lies.
These experiences seem to show the consciousness can exist outside of the body, which opens the door to a whole bunch of possibilities. Before science can disprove these possibilities, it first must define consciousness in a way that can be detected and measured, which it has not done. Therefore, a rational man cannot make any definite statement about what consciousness can or cannot be capable of. And you never know, any day now some researcher could announce the discovery of an objective way of detecting consciousness inside and outside of the body, and these questions would finally be answered, once and for all.
If you wish to believe in spirits, you have ample anecdotal evidence for that position. If not, nothing will change your mind. Just look at how hard the creationists are fighting to get their views accepted as fact. The thing is, the number of people who believe or don't believe in something has no bering on whether it's true or not, so feel free to pick whatever position you want.
Particles which have no mass always move at the speed of light. Since a stationary phenomena does not appear to be moving at the speed of light, that's not going to work as an explanation of ghosts.
Science has not found "another form of energy". One which hypothetically only exists in humans (dead or alive). Anything that is visible or can move other objects would have to interact with light and matter in a way that uses the same forces we already know.
This strongly indicates that ghosts cannot exist, or else we would be able to measure them somehow.
Science has not found "another form of energy". One which hypothetically only exists in humans (dead or alive). Anything that is visible or can move other objects would have to interact with light and matter in a way that uses the same forces we already know.
This strongly indicates that ghosts cannot exist, or else we would be able to measure them somehow.
I hate to be that guy, but...no.
Many have claimed, and will continue to claim, to have had such an encounter. I certainly look forward to reading many among the answers to this question - I hope they are interesting.
However, the fact that we have neither any consistently reproducible nor verifiable evidence, or even a testable model, for any of these phenomena, means that we can't really take these claims seriously yet.
Many have claimed, and will continue to claim, to have had such an encounter. I certainly look forward to reading many among the answers to this question - I hope they are interesting.
However, the fact that we have neither any consistently reproducible nor verifiable evidence, or even a testable model, for any of these phenomena, means that we can't really take these claims seriously yet.
Here is my take. When we say one is alive we mean he has an energy in him ...energy which certain religions call atma or soul. And this has to be true because every being has a unique identity. If it wer just for the brains why would we all be so different ..wouldnt we have ended up as a less monotonous form of a robot?
I would think yes. So if we say life is energy and go by physics which say energy can neither be created nor destroyed then we must accept that when the soul leaves a body it does not and cannot really leave earth. It has to either transform itself to another form or its just lingering around.
My conclusion would be that ghosts are souls that couldnt transform from one life to another and sort of got stuck like an atom waiting to complete its octect and attain stability.
I would think yes. So if we say life is energy and go by physics which say energy can neither be created nor destroyed then we must accept that when the soul leaves a body it does not and cannot really leave earth. It has to either transform itself to another form or its just lingering around.
My conclusion would be that ghosts are souls that couldnt transform from one life to another and sort of got stuck like an atom waiting to complete its octect and attain stability.
Yes, there are ghosts in this world. These are the lost ones. These are the people so alone and marginalized, they cannot tell for themselves, are they living or are they dead. They can be found anywhere. They are the ones no one hears or listens to because they cannot communicate well their needs or wants or ideas. This inability emanates from within themselves, from their loss of self, loss of confidence, loss of love or absence of love. This loss of self grows exponentially as they become further isolated. They eventually give up trying to connect with others. They have no self-esteem. They sit homeless on sidewalks talking with the other dead in their heads. And they hear them respond. We call them mentally ill. We call them scitzophentic. We call them many other things. Usually, we don't even see them. They are ghosts.
I haven't seen any ghosts in the 21 years I have lived. Neither have I heard from any friend of mine that he/she has seen one. Although, I should say a friend of mine once said that sometimes a ghost randomly appears in his house in the night, and since it's a ghost, he and his family can't seen it, because they're all humans, but their dog can. So, whenever his dog barks madly in the middle of the night, they know that tonight is ghost night.
Frankly, I do not believe in ghosts. You can't just believe in something as unreal as a ghost just because there's a widespread perception of it.
Here's my theory as to why there are so many ghost sightings. Most people "appear" to "see" ghosts AFTER they've been told that there's a ghost inhabiting the haunted mansion/house/castle/what
You see a shadow flitting across the dark room. You think it's a ghost. You see the door closing on its own, you think it's a ghost. You hear some strange noises that could very well be some wild animal or some lame plumbing in the house, you think it's a ghost. You simply can't forget about simply physics and nature and start thinking it's some kind of supernatural occurrence.
As to those people who see ghosts without anyone having told them, well, they're hallucinating. There are MANY, MANY explanations put forth by scientists as to why people see ghosts, for example, if there's a weakening in the magnetic field, the mind starts playing tricks on you. I can't explain any further because going further would mean going into neuroscience and neurobiology, which I'm not a student of.
All things aside, most ghost occurrences are simple mind tricks, which people refuse to acknowledge, partly because they WANT to believe, or that they simply find it more convincing.
Frankly, I do not believe in ghosts. You can't just believe in something as unreal as a ghost just because there's a widespread perception of it.
Here's my theory as to why there are so many ghost sightings. Most people "appear" to "see" ghosts AFTER they've been told that there's a ghost inhabiting the haunted mansion/house/castle/what
You see a shadow flitting across the dark room. You think it's a ghost. You see the door closing on its own, you think it's a ghost. You hear some strange noises that could very well be some wild animal or some lame plumbing in the house, you think it's a ghost. You simply can't forget about simply physics and nature and start thinking it's some kind of supernatural occurrence.
As to those people who see ghosts without anyone having told them, well, they're hallucinating. There are MANY, MANY explanations put forth by scientists as to why people see ghosts, for example, if there's a weakening in the magnetic field, the mind starts playing tricks on you. I can't explain any further because going further would mean going into neuroscience and neurobiology, which I'm not a student of.
All things aside, most ghost occurrences are simple mind tricks, which people refuse to acknowledge, partly because they WANT to believe, or that they simply find it more convincing.
Depends what you mean by in reality. To a lot of people, that means only material existence; something that isn't made up of bosons and fermions does not exist. However, I think that's a pretty shortsighted definition of existence; for a big example, I don't really exist as a physical, material object. Sure, my body does, and my brain does, and my existence is, I am assured, totally dependent on the continued existence and operation of my body and in particular my brain, but that doesn't therefore make my consciousness a material physical thing. If so, where is it, and what are its physical attributes: position and velocity, to use terminology of physics? And in kind of a Descartesian fashion, once I've established my own existence as immaterial, then it is perfectly logical to accept the reality of things like patriotism, love, the counter-culture, human suffering, the economy, etc. etc. etc.
Their immaterial nature does not stop such things from having material effects; obviously consciousness seems to cause various things, and it's pretty much agreed that things like consumer confidence, or the spirit of freedom spreading through the Middle East, etc. cause things to happen.
Given that, what would it mean to say something does not exist? Good question. It might be argued that anything which can be conceived of, therefore exists, at least as a concept. This would obviously include spirits and suchlike items.
If somebody thinks the spirit of a departed one is communicating with them, it's actually hard to argue that they are wrong, in the sense that it's the spirit as their consciousness interprets it. Of course, to make the question more useful, we interpret it as does said spirit exist to an objective observer, which is a lot more rare.
Their immaterial nature does not stop such things from having material effects; obviously consciousness seems to cause various things, and it's pretty much agreed that things like consumer confidence, or the spirit of freedom spreading through the Middle East, etc. cause things to happen.
Given that, what would it mean to say something does not exist? Good question. It might be argued that anything which can be conceived of, therefore exists, at least as a concept. This would obviously include spirits and suchlike items.
If somebody thinks the spirit of a departed one is communicating with them, it's actually hard to argue that they are wrong, in the sense that it's the spirit as their consciousness interprets it. Of course, to make the question more useful, we interpret it as does said spirit exist to an objective observer, which is a lot more rare.
Ghosts
Are ghosts and spirits real?
Ghosts is a concept that has been around since i think humanity.
I, so, wonder why least number of science students venture into ghost/paranormal studies. There are just too many interesting evidences and stories, accumulated over ages now, that its hard for me to believe why the subject of ghosts still does not incite much interest in researchers.
Maybe its because of the same reason why not many scientists study the existence of GOD. They could give atleast some damn about it.
They are wasting so much resources in trying to find gravity waves (LIGO) since decades without any success, when they could have used 10% the effort to prove this ever existent question of 'whether ghosts exist'. Man!, so many people would be relieved including my uncle who sees the ghosts of his friends apart from the ghosts of his pet cat who meets him on fridays. Which was a very special case due to the general lack of animal ghosts. If my uncle wasn't suffering from schizophrenic paranoia and hallucinations of doctors and family running around him , maybe he would have started research himself. If it was proved they exist he would be more confident interacting with the ghosts, rather than horrified and confused.
I remember the ghost of one of my expired family members. Btw this is a true story that i have witnessed. He used to possess my aunt and shout at everyone very frequently. She was the least educated in the family and maybe that's why the ghost chose her. Nevertheless, my grandma did a blunder mistake and called a popular exorcist. He was practicing since the age of 5 and never needed any schooling. The exorcist quickly found that the ghost was in my aunts pinky finger and all they needed to do was, cut it and then again join it, he would ensure that there would be no pain involved. My aunt was ready to do it, but unfortunately the ghost heard it and never came back. You might wonder that my aunt had always been faking it, and cutting the finger scared her enough to finally stop the drama. But believe it, she said she was not faking it.
It was unfortunate that we did not have access to some well educated paranormal/ghost researcher who could have devised a way to let us interact with the ghost. And that's why, the dumb exorcist ended up destroying one heck of a chance :(
Thanks for reading this. Apologies if the sarcasm was not clear enough.
Are ghosts and spirits real?
Ghosts is a concept that has been around since i think humanity.
I, so, wonder why least number of science students venture into ghost/paranormal studies. There are just too many interesting evidences and stories, accumulated over ages now, that its hard for me to believe why the subject of ghosts still does not incite much interest in researchers.
Maybe its because of the same reason why not many scientists study the existence of GOD. They could give atleast some damn about it.
They are wasting so much resources in trying to find gravity waves (LIGO) since decades without any success, when they could have used 10% the effort to prove this ever existent question of 'whether ghosts exist'. Man!, so many people would be relieved including my uncle who sees the ghosts of his friends apart from the ghosts of his pet cat who meets him on fridays. Which was a very special case due to the general lack of animal ghosts. If my uncle wasn't suffering from schizophrenic paranoia and hallucinations of doctors and family running around him , maybe he would have started research himself. If it was proved they exist he would be more confident interacting with the ghosts, rather than horrified and confused.
I remember the ghost of one of my expired family members. Btw this is a true story that i have witnessed. He used to possess my aunt and shout at everyone very frequently. She was the least educated in the family and maybe that's why the ghost chose her. Nevertheless, my grandma did a blunder mistake and called a popular exorcist. He was practicing since the age of 5 and never needed any schooling. The exorcist quickly found that the ghost was in my aunts pinky finger and all they needed to do was, cut it and then again join it, he would ensure that there would be no pain involved. My aunt was ready to do it, but unfortunately the ghost heard it and never came back. You might wonder that my aunt had always been faking it, and cutting the finger scared her enough to finally stop the drama. But believe it, she said she was not faking it.
It was unfortunate that we did not have access to some well educated paranormal/ghost researcher who could have devised a way to let us interact with the ghost. And that's why, the dumb exorcist ended up destroying one heck of a chance :(
Thanks for reading this. Apologies if the sarcasm was not clear enough.
Though numerous people claim to have had a supernatural experience, of sorts, there has barely been any scientific evidence of such activities. Yes, researches have been conducted by many with respect to such subjects, with the hope of finding legit answers, and many accounts have been told to the world about such entities. But there has not been any solid proof regarding the presence of such forces.
I used to have a lot of fun watching horror movies, but I don't think I'm willing to believe in such things until I've seen/felt it for myself. The fear of the unknown dominates people aplenty, and I don't think I'm one of them.
It is your choice. You can choose to believe in such things oryou can choose to not and wait for scientific proof.
I used to have a lot of fun watching horror movies, but I don't think I'm willing to believe in such things until I've seen/felt it for myself. The fear of the unknown dominates people aplenty, and I don't think I'm one of them.
It is your choice. You can choose to believe in such things oryou can choose to not and wait for scientific proof.
As a skeptical believer that is an interesting question. I don't know that a "ghost" is what they really are, but I do believe there are spirits or energies that exist which most people can not see (there are some people who say they can see these energies), but many can sense whether they realize it or not.
Has there been any conclusive evidence? Hard to say, but there are a lot of paranormal investigation groups that are working hard to acquire evidence, but having the unexplainable doesn't equate to proof.
Has there been any conclusive evidence? Hard to say, but there are a lot of paranormal investigation groups that are working hard to acquire evidence, but having the unexplainable doesn't equate to proof.
Seeing ghosts is exactly like believing in god, that is there are two camps and one camp cannot reason with the other. Below is a Dec 2013 CNS article on a Harris Poll on the issue:
(CNS News) - A new Harris Poll finds that a strong majority (74 percent) of U.S. adults say they believe in God, but that's down from the 82 percent who expressed such a belief in earlier years.
Belief in miracles, heaven and other religious teachings also declined in the latest poll, as follows:
--72 percent believe in miracles, down from 79 percent in 2005;
--68 percent believe in heaven, down from 75 percent;
--68 percent believe that Jesus is God or the Son of God, down from 72 percent;
--65 percent believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, down from 70 percent;
--64 percent believe in the survival of the soul after death, down from 69 percent;
--58 percent believe in the devil and hell, down from 62 percent;
--57 percent believe in the Virgin birth, down from 60 percent.
The same poll also found that belief in Darwin's theory of evolution increased to 47 percent, up from 42 percent in 2005.
And it shows that 42% of Americans believe in ghosts (especially younger people), 36% each believe in creationism and UFOs, 29% believe in astrology, 26% believe in witches and 24% believe in reincarnation – that they were once another person.
***
(There is no scientifically confirmed report of vision of ghosts.)
(CNS News) - A new Harris Poll finds that a strong majority (74 percent) of U.S. adults say they believe in God, but that's down from the 82 percent who expressed such a belief in earlier years.
Belief in miracles, heaven and other religious teachings also declined in the latest poll, as follows:
--72 percent believe in miracles, down from 79 percent in 2005;
--68 percent believe in heaven, down from 75 percent;
--68 percent believe that Jesus is God or the Son of God, down from 72 percent;
--65 percent believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, down from 70 percent;
--64 percent believe in the survival of the soul after death, down from 69 percent;
--58 percent believe in the devil and hell, down from 62 percent;
--57 percent believe in the Virgin birth, down from 60 percent.
The same poll also found that belief in Darwin's theory of evolution increased to 47 percent, up from 42 percent in 2005.
And it shows that 42% of Americans believe in ghosts (especially younger people), 36% each believe in creationism and UFOs, 29% believe in astrology, 26% believe in witches and 24% believe in reincarnation – that they were once another person.
***
(There is no scientifically confirmed report of vision of ghosts.)
I have not. Yet.
I have heard a lot of stories which are apparently true.
I personally think people don't see ghosts. They feel ghosts. They feel a presence. It is an altered sense of perception. A state of mind that cannot be rationally explained.
And as for Game of thrones, they have plenty of resurrections.
Sadly, our world cannot bring back the dead.
Thank you for asking :)
I have heard a lot of stories which are apparently true.
I personally think people don't see ghosts. They feel ghosts. They feel a presence. It is an altered sense of perception. A state of mind that cannot be rationally explained.
And as for Game of thrones, they have plenty of resurrections.
- Beric Dondarrion has died several times, only to be revived by Thoros of Myr's prayers to the Lord of Light.
- Lady Stark returns as Lady Stoneheart.
Sadly, our world cannot bring back the dead.
Thank you for asking :)
The answer must be either "no" or that it is unfalsifiable.
It is either or because the definition of a ghost varies. Most paranormal apologists point to their own personal experiences (and you'll likely see this in this thread) Yet, this is not only unscientific but highly unreliable.
(why eyewitness testimony is unreliable)
For personal experiences, we can usually come up with possible explanations, but without something we can actually test or measure, whether it's true or false, it's unfalsifiable as a claim.
"It can't be explained" does not prove ghosts exist.
The idea of "the ghost" is a story. The story says that ghosts are dead humans who roam the world, revisit their homes, clank chains...choose your version of the story.
It's also an inconsistent and constantly evolving one, which is not what one would expect if it is a natural phenomenon.
But to the above point, if we say "X is caused by Y" and you say Y is "ghosts" and I say I don't know what Y is, it makes no sense to conclude that Y is ghosts.
"What is inside the box?"
a.) A dodo bird.
b.) Something else.
Which answer sounds more logical to you?
It is either or because the definition of a ghost varies. Most paranormal apologists point to their own personal experiences (and you'll likely see this in this thread) Yet, this is not only unscientific but highly unreliable.
(why eyewitness testimony is unreliable)
For personal experiences, we can usually come up with possible explanations, but without something we can actually test or measure, whether it's true or false, it's unfalsifiable as a claim.
"It can't be explained" does not prove ghosts exist.
The idea of "the ghost" is a story. The story says that ghosts are dead humans who roam the world, revisit their homes, clank chains...choose your version of the story.
It's also an inconsistent and constantly evolving one, which is not what one would expect if it is a natural phenomenon.
But to the above point, if we say "X is caused by Y" and you say Y is "ghosts" and I say I don't know what Y is, it makes no sense to conclude that Y is ghosts.
"What is inside the box?"
a.) A dodo bird.
b.) Something else.
Which answer sounds more logical to you?
I suggest you to read some questions of The Spirits' Book (Allan Kardec). But I'll try to summarize the logical explanation.
Do you believe that you are a soul, or you're just your physical body?
1. If you think that there's nothing besides the physical body, then why not be selfish, lie and try to make the best only for yourself? After this life there's nothing, so focus only on the best for you. (Imagine how the world would be like that)
2. If you believe that you have a soul, then what happen to it after you die?
Do you believe that your soul "disappear" after you death?
1. If you do, then it's the same as say that there's no soul at all, right? Cuz it will disappear. Or even if this soul just become part of a "main spirit", it's the same as say it will disappear. So you'll be in the same point as answer 1 from the previous question.
2. If you don't, then your soul will keep some characteristics that are apart from your body, but that recognizes you.
Then it's easy to think, if the spirit leaves the body after the life, why can't they meet each other? Why can't they try to make contact with people that they loved and are still alive?
For better explanations, read The Spirits' Book (Allan Kardec) and check more complete answers for questions like this.
Do you believe that you are a soul, or you're just your physical body?
1. If you think that there's nothing besides the physical body, then why not be selfish, lie and try to make the best only for yourself? After this life there's nothing, so focus only on the best for you. (Imagine how the world would be like that)
2. If you believe that you have a soul, then what happen to it after you die?
Do you believe that your soul "disappear" after you death?
1. If you do, then it's the same as say that there's no soul at all, right? Cuz it will disappear. Or even if this soul just become part of a "main spirit", it's the same as say it will disappear. So you'll be in the same point as answer 1 from the previous question.
2. If you don't, then your soul will keep some characteristics that are apart from your body, but that recognizes you.
Then it's easy to think, if the spirit leaves the body after the life, why can't they meet each other? Why can't they try to make contact with people that they loved and are still alive?
For better explanations, read The Spirits' Book (Allan Kardec) and check more complete answers for questions like this.
I have seen ghosts my entire life, so the question of their existence is matter-of-fact for me. However, I'm also a science nerd, so I wondered how they can be. What I have decided is this:
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. It is conceivable that upon certain death, specifically tragic death where am excess of energy is expended, that the energy would leave a mark.
But since it no longer has a shell, the energy is not always visible to the naked eye. (I fully admit that I am wired weirdly, which is probably why I can occasionally 'see' things.)
Still a hypothesis, of course. :)
Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. It is conceivable that upon certain death, specifically tragic death where am excess of energy is expended, that the energy would leave a mark.
But since it no longer has a shell, the energy is not always visible to the naked eye. (I fully admit that I am wired weirdly, which is probably why I can occasionally 'see' things.)
Still a hypothesis, of course. :)
Yes, actually, animal ghosts are perhaps more numerous (though not as well documented) as human ghosts. I'm not going to expound on my own experiences (there are several, but they are benign and rather uninteresting to other people) or on mythological specters like Black Hounds. There are many legends and stories associated with animal hauntings, from ancient times to modern, and many books filled with their stories. From European legends of executed werewolves and vampires continuing to haunt locations in animal form, to the Laplandian accounts of departed pets becoming almost like household guardian spirits. One book I'd recommend, which may still be available, is called "Phantom Felines and Other Ghostly Animals" by Gerina Dunwich.
This is pseudo-scientific mystical babble. Using a bunch of scientifical-sounding words is how you write a Star Trek episode, it's not how you come up with meaningful hypothesis.
Anything whatsoever could be rationalized by talking about an 'energy yet to be categorized'. I recommend you take a step back and seriously investigate how science actually works, what a valid hypothesis is and the actual mathematics that really make up physics. Handwavium is not a theory, it is an avoidance of challenges to a theory.
Anything whatsoever could be rationalized by talking about an 'energy yet to be categorized'. I recommend you take a step back and seriously investigate how science actually works, what a valid hypothesis is and the actual mathematics that really make up physics. Handwavium is not a theory, it is an avoidance of challenges to a theory.
I have not seen a ghost..but have experienced something supernatural...
That time i was living in Delhi in a rented apartment (South Delhi-Kalka Ji Precisely)..
One night at 3 Pm approximately in my sleep, i felt that a male of 35 age entered my room. I was able to see him (he was approximately 5 feet 6 inches taller, was wearing kurta - Indian style long shirt and loose jeans )..
I was unable to move that time, but was able to see everything... He did nothing, just sat on my bed, leaned towards my ear and said something...I could not hear him because was able to move my body by that time and woke up.
That time I saw my mobile and it was switched off..I plugged in the same for charging...and immediately i saw the time..It was 3-15 AM.(that's why i assumed that this happened @ 3 AM)
I was scared for 3-4 days..Meanwhile i told my friends about this..They said it might be Sleep Paralysis.
I was convinced that its nothing special & life became normal..
Now the scary part:
After 15-16 days (of the incident ) there was a birthday party at my landlords place. (They lived same home..but on 1st floor..my room was on 2nd floor).
They invited me so I went there... That day they were talking about the elder brother of my landlord who died at a very young age..That time my landlords age was 32-33( His elder brother was 17-18 when he died...He was wearing long shirt-Kurta & the night before he died he went to his mom telling her that he was not feeling well @ 3-3: 15 AM.... )
He was pure vegetarian so now the whole family dont eat non veg because they felt that once you eat non veg in that home he will cause trouble to you.
Aunty started crying after telling this story and just image my situation...I got goosebumps that minute only..
I any how convinced my self for a week or so that this incident had to do nothing with my sleep paralysis, but within a week only I left their home..and rented another apartment.
That time i was living in Delhi in a rented apartment (South Delhi-Kalka Ji Precisely)..
One night at 3 Pm approximately in my sleep, i felt that a male of 35 age entered my room. I was able to see him (he was approximately 5 feet 6 inches taller, was wearing kurta - Indian style long shirt and loose jeans )..
I was unable to move that time, but was able to see everything... He did nothing, just sat on my bed, leaned towards my ear and said something...I could not hear him because was able to move my body by that time and woke up.
That time I saw my mobile and it was switched off..I plugged in the same for charging...and immediately i saw the time..It was 3-15 AM.(that's why i assumed that this happened @ 3 AM)
I was scared for 3-4 days..Meanwhile i told my friends about this..They said it might be Sleep Paralysis.
I was convinced that its nothing special & life became normal..
Now the scary part:
After 15-16 days (of the incident ) there was a birthday party at my landlords place. (They lived same home..but on 1st floor..my room was on 2nd floor).
They invited me so I went there... That day they were talking about the elder brother of my landlord who died at a very young age..That time my landlords age was 32-33( His elder brother was 17-18 when he died...He was wearing long shirt-Kurta & the night before he died he went to his mom telling her that he was not feeling well @ 3-3: 15 AM.... )
He was pure vegetarian so now the whole family dont eat non veg because they felt that once you eat non veg in that home he will cause trouble to you.
Aunty started crying after telling this story and just image my situation...I got goosebumps that minute only..
I any how convinced my self for a week or so that this incident had to do nothing with my sleep paralysis, but within a week only I left their home..and rented another apartment.
Ghost don't move molecules. People's minds seem to. When my cat died it was all over the house and I could see it out of the corner of my eye. But when looking dirctly, he was not there because my association placed him there as familiarity. With time that faded. Ghosts we see are our links to imagination. Imaging things by projecting.
There may be the spirit of things but "giving up the ghost" is a figure of speech for dualism. The spirit can be as in a song which when sung today will touch the heart just like it did a hundred years ago. Like rainbows, it takes an observer to compleat the equation.
There may be the spirit of things but "giving up the ghost" is a figure of speech for dualism. The spirit can be as in a song which when sung today will touch the heart just like it did a hundred years ago. Like rainbows, it takes an observer to compleat the equation.
Usually, there are 7 types of ghosts/spirits :
- The imaginary ghost- It's a personification of one's own fear. A terrified person makes out a human figure out of a bush in darkness. Fear creates confusion in mind and apprehensions produce living images perceptible to senses. When the mind is weak and susceptible, whatever is imagined, appears real.
- Psycho-somatic disprders- Psychological disturbances give rise to diseases like mental disorders and hysteria. In these cases, the patient does not talk normally and behaves strangely. When one is forced to live in an unfavourable environment from which there is no opportunity to escape, the stress creates a confusion in the sensors of mind making the person behave as if he is possessed by some spirit. At times in order to attract attention, individuals also pretend to be possessed or relate tales regarding regarding their fictitious encounters with ghosts.
- Clones created by residual bio energy- The residual charge left over by the bio-electric particles of certain extraordinary persons or abnormal events involving strong emotional outbursts in people persist for a very long period in the inanimate objects of the house or related place. Finding an appropriate environment, these particles become reactivated and clone into a virtual living image of a person dead or alive.
- Sensually dissatisfied souls- Spirits of persons who die with suppressed desires specially terrorise their close associates of earlier life, since being familiar with them and because of earlier experiences, they think it feasible to satisfy their unquenched desires through the former. Such spirits may create disturbances in order to achieve their purpose and calm down as soon their desire is fulfilled.
- The infatuated soul- Some souls move around the place of living of their favourites ones. They take pleasure in finding their loved ones enjoying life. They never harm anyone but rather warm their favoirite persons in moments of danger and at times even help them. Such spirits are also known as pitar. They are harmless. On the other hand, persons dying in their youth with very strong desires wish to drag their dear ones to their own status of pret yoni. With this motive they may even plan to kill their favourites.
- The spiritual robots- By practising disciplines of tantra spiritual robots(chaya purush) are either created created or various types of powerful spirits and divine powers brought under control or personified(bhairvi, bhavani, baital, pir, genie, pishachini and the like of them) for achieving an objective in some way.
- The liberated souls- About the souls of persons who had died after living a contended life, much has been said earlier. They feel happy in finding persons engaged in virtuous activities and help them in their progress. They are called siddha mahatmas and magapuryshas who are moving around in the invisible astral world.
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