The AH Paranormal Belief Thread (read OP before voting)

Pace2008

There is no such thing as the paranormal / spiritual

Jakkass wrote: »

Also what are sigils and lucid dreaming?

Lucid dreaming is dreaming whilst being aware that you're dreaming. When you're aware of what's going on you often have the ability to manipulate your dreamscape to varying degrees. It's quite a transcendent experience, really, but I don't see anything paranormal about it.

I think most people have to "train" themselves to lucid dream, but it's been happening to me for as long as I can remember, with no effort on my part. Unfortunately, in my case it usually goes hand-in-hand with sleep paralysis, an entirely unpleasant experience that, fittingly, is one of the most common material explanations for supposed paranormal phenomena like alien abductions and ghostly apparitions.

Voodu Child

The scientist in me would be willing to investigate paranormal claims in an unbiased manner, which would make me a 5.

However I don't like the term 'open to the idea'. That doesnt describe my feelings regarding ghosts, fairies, astrology etc. So maybe im a 6.

philologos

Believer in astrology (reading horoscopes)

magma69 wrote: »

Just as a side note, I think there is a possibility of other beings among us that we are not aware of but do not all into the realm of "paranormal".

Presumably you mean material beings on other planets in the universe (extra-terrestrial) rather than in the world with us?

dvpower

This from wikipedia re a US survey on belief in the paranormal.
(I don't get the fact that 37% believe in haunted houses but only 32% in ghosts; aren't haunted houses haunted by ghosts?)

The survey found that 73 percent of those polled believed in at least one of the ten paranormal items presented in the survey. The ten items included in the survey were: extrasensory perception (41% held this belief), haunted houses (37%), ghosts (32%), telepathy (31%), clairvoyance (26%), astrology (25%), communication with the dead (21%), witches (21%), reincarnation (20%), and channeling spiritual entities (9%). These items were selected as they "require the belief that humans have more than the 'normal' five senses." Only one percent of respondents believed in all ten items.

easyeason3

Believer in astrology (reading horoscopes)

magma69 wrote: »

Just as a side note, I think there is a possibility of other beings among us that we are not aware of but do not all into the realm of "paranormal".

Sorry I didn't mean to thank you. Slip of the hand.

So what other beings are you on about?

PeterIanStaker

I'm a firm 6.

Ghosts, no. Aliens, yes.

King Felix

Believer in the paranormal, rarely participate.

Could you go a bit more into detail about what these ghosts and spirits are like?

I've heard enough first hand stories from people of ghostly experiences, the one Niall Keane posted a while back. And a friend is a Morrocan imam who's attended a few exorcisms. So, I've heard enough that I'd say their existance is highly probable.

Also what are sigils

Sigil Magick. Writing down a wish or desire, scrambling the letters and making a symbol with the stems of the letters, then embedding it through meditation or some other method. I only use it to try and improve certain behaviours or stop with bad ones. Giving up ciggies for example. I don't believe it's magic but rather a combination of NLP type embedding (or something Derren Brown would do to elicit behaviour) and the placebo effect.

and lucid dreaming?

Basically training yourself to get more from your dreams in terms of your consciousness and perhaps getting into precognitive dreams. Nothing you wouldn't find in Carl Jung.

As for it being a thing of the mind and not an external force, surely one must also consider that these ghosts and spirits aren't actually tangibly existing, but just existing in your mind then?

Could be, if they exist.

Could be any number of explanations.

nullzero

Believer in astrology (reading horoscopes)

While I'm sure there are simple explainations for most things I'm nowhere near arrogant enough to say weird things don't happen or exist full stop, but maybe I'm just not cool enough for that:pac:

philologos

Believer in astrology (reading horoscopes)

easyeason3 wrote: »

3) There is a huge differnece in believing in God & spirits. I believe that spirits are around us, all the time. I do not believe in God, but due to my catholic upbringing I often think 'Thank God' or 'Please God'. It's a habit.
However at times I get the heebie jeebies, a certain smell, a thought or whatever that makes me think of people who have died.

Not much of a difference. If one believes in the spirits of humans and the afterlife it can be hardly be that much of a leap to say that there is an overarching presence from which we all came to be.

magma69

There is no such thing as the paranormal / spiritual

easyeason3 wrote: »

Sorry I didn't mean to thank you. Slip of the hand.

So what other beings are you on about?

You can remove thanks.

I don't know. I am open to the idea that there are beings we are unable to observe. Beings that are possibly in another dimension we are unaware of. What kind of beings? Possibly aliens, or humans from the future, who knows. I don't believe that they are, as said in my previous post, I won't believe anything until there is some compelling evidence in favour of it.

I just think that the universe is very strange and the more we learn the more strange it becomes. It would be silly to rule something like that out 100%

philologos

Believer in astrology (reading horoscopes)

magma69: I would suspect that you're much more a 3 than a 5 then. Unless these beings were immaterial spirits, or somewhere else in the universe, I don't understand how there could be unobservable beings in this world.

magma69

There is no such thing as the paranormal / spiritual

Jakkass wrote: »

Presumably you mean material beings on other planets in the universe (extra-terrestrial) rather than in the world with us?

I think my last post answers that for you.

magma69

There is no such thing as the paranormal / spiritual

Jakkass wrote: »

magma69: I would suspect that you're much more a 3 than a 5 then. Unless these beings were immaterial spirits, or somewhere else in the universe, I don't understand how there could be unobservable beings in this world.

No, I don't believe it. There is no evidence to support it. But I think it is a possibility.

Well for instance, there could be beings which cannot be detected by any of our senses. Our brains have evolved is such as way so these beings (if they exist) elude us. If you pick up a rock, our senses tell us it's solid and dense, but on an atomic level it is almost entirely empty space.

Maybe, as we become more technologically advanced, we may find away to observe these.

We're gone off on a tangent, I used that hypothetical example to show how I think it's important to keep and open mind about things. I don't actually believe it.

dvpower

magma69 wrote: »

I don't know. I am open to the idea that there are beings we are unable to observe. Beings that are possibly in another dimension we are unaware of. What kind of beings? Possibly aliens, or humans from the future, who knows. I don't believe that they are, as said in my previous post, I won't believe anything until there is some compelling evidence in favour of it.

I just think that the universe is very strange and the more we learn the more strange it becomes. It would be silly to rule something like that out 100%

What makes you open to these ideas in particular? Or are you open to every single fanciful idea?

magma69

There is no such thing as the paranormal / spiritual

dvpower wrote: »

What makes you open to these ideas in particular? Or are you open to every single fanciful idea?

Pretty much open to everything.

Some hypothesis hold more weight than others. For instance, the fact that there are things we cannot observe but are pretty certain exist (from mathematics) such as dark matter, makes the notion of unobservable beings among us slightly more credible (albeit, not very much, and certainly not enough to believe in it).

Deus Ex Machina

There is no such thing as the paranormal / spiritual

Unlike God, at least as he is defined by Christianity, I do wish that ghosts existed. It would be so cool if all those stories about hauntings were true, they are so quaint and pleasant beside all the actual scary things in this world.

dvpower

magma69 wrote: »

Pretty much open to everything.

I am your God / ruler of the universe / reptillian overlord.
I command you to sell all of your belongings and deposit the proceeds in my PayPal account.

WindSock

I like to keep an open mind and believe in the possiblilty of the paranormal world. It makes life a bit more interesting. I have also participated in a few things.

I didn't vote as none of the options apply to me.

magma69

There is no such thing as the paranormal / spiritual

dvpower wrote: »

I am your God / ruler of the universe reptillian overlord.
I command you to sell all of your belongings and deposit the proceeds in my PayPal account.

Omnipotent yet somehow can't get figure out the whole money thing. :P