Your 'personal' stance on the paranormal

Alright, personally, I'm not entirely sure on my stance on most paranormal... things. I mean... I believe it is possible for things like 'spirits' to exist, and that the human mind is a lot more sophisticated then most lead themselves to believe, but when ever some one claims to be "telepathic" or that they have a connection to the "spirit world" or that they are "channeling information from a certain entity," their credibility sinks to an extreme low for me. Especially when they start describing such abilities or entities or worlds. It makes them seem... well... stupid. Or rather deceptive, as if they're preying on the weak, gullible minds of the public. I can never, ever, believe them. Instead, a red flag goes up and I have to deny everything they say (especially when it comes to claims like "I've made contact to an alien through channeling!" I mean, come on... really?).

The possibility of such things exists very much to me and I do want to see them, to experience them, to know them. I just don't believe them. Perhaps that's what I need to believe them.


I don't know... What about you guys? Where do you stand, personally, on the paranormal?

I feel like these things really should exist and i keep an open mind about the matter. But TBH i haven't found anything convincing yet.

The more i look into the subject the less i believe in it. Its totally obvious that there are a hell of a lot of people out there faking it for whatever reasons. But this is nothing new there have always been people who claim to have 'special knowledge' about such matters and i think there will always be people who will sit there and believe every word they say.

I spent a long time researching mind control and how magicians pull off their magic tricks and TBH thats all i see these mediums doing.

The whole situation is a bit depressing when you really start to look into it.


[edit on 11-7-2009 by VitalOverdose]

I donno if I believe in this stuff or not. Because my whole life I've told myself it doesnt really exist and I've never ONCE had a weird experience. But then I have friends who are "believers" and all the time they have experiences.

I personally think its all your mind, your mind is very powerful, if you think something is real you can basically make it real.

I've also studied the occult and magick (although I don't believe in it, I just find it interesting) for a long time and have experimented with LOTS of spells and all kind of stuff and NONE OF IT DOES ANYTHING!

I've also done plenty of experiments with quija boards over the years and nothing has ever happened either.

But like I said my personal belief is if you believe somethings gonna happen, it will. Just look at that ghost show on the travel channel, something happens in EVERY episode, but its so obvious the only reason its happening is cause all those guys are believers and they freak out over any little thing. People need to toughen up. None of this stuff can hurt you (atleast in my opionon).

If this stuff was real my house would be full of ghosts and demons because I've studied and read about and "practiced" this stuff for years, and nothing has happened.

Most my friends who are believers think theyve seen things in my house and they warn me about reading about this stuff, but I've never seen anything.

And if any of you think differently of this stuff, please don't argue with me. I'm entitled to an opionon.


[edit on 11-7-2009 by jeasahtheseer]

[edit on 11-7-2009 by jeasahtheseer]

[edit on 11-7-2009 by jeasahtheseer]

If we use the word "paranormal", it's because we do not understand what's going on. Our intellect is not able to understand.
I'll give you a simple example; not so long ago, there was a lady that called herself "Blossom". She claimed she had information that was channeled trough her from an alien race. She indeed got information, but she was dead wrong about the source of the info. Actually, she got that message from one of the lower spheres of the astral plane. Some spirit (s) where having a lot of fun sending those messages to that poor lady... That lady lost a lot of credibility because of the game that was being played on her...

Most of the paranormal activities have a direct connection with the astral plane and for this, we must be careful, for all they have to offer is deception.

There are a few exeptions. There are cases where there is communications coming from ET's but most of the time, the information is supressed from the mind of the person in contact. And yet, some others did have contact, and they remember everything, but they keep the information secret, and that for different reasons. Some are affraid of the perception that others might have towards the information they received.
Others believe that the information should not be made public.
Just my 2 cents...

reply to post by mrwupy


Thank you for these comments. It's nice to have mods participate in threads. It's true, there's a lot of weird stuff going on. It's indeed very rare that events are explained in an objective manner. Most of the time, because of the lack of understanding, the explaination given is subjective in nature. The most important thing to remember is: Do not believe in anything. You have to know, and to know, you have to experiment on your own, but you need to have deep understanding of the experience as well.

My personal stance comes from a number of influences:
- personal experience...literally...
- daily *examples* of it within my current employment
- cultural understandings
- cultural teachings
- working alongside people we term Tohunga/Healers
- ancestry
- my faith in that which I term God

For me there is no doubt in my mind in regards to things wierd and wonderful. Spooks, spirits, ghosts, healings, knowings...all that...been there done that bought the T-shirt.
So in many ways paranormal is pretty normal.


That said, I do have doubts occasionally...about what I hear/read/see other people claiming.
For instance I don't believe anyone can levitate a few metres off the ground, can cast fireballs like some living Dragonball Z character, can morph themselves into my neighbours cat, dodge bullets, sit there and change the channels on their TV via thought or a miriade of other claims I read here often.

...perhaps if I had experienced those particular things then maybe I'd be more a believer. I haven't, and so I'm not.

However in saying that, I'm also acutely aware of a sense of hypocracy in that...that what I have experienced and what I do believe and hold as *real* to me...many other people would also doubt and cast off as delusion, confusion etc just as much.
So in some ways its quite pertinent that your question asks about ones *personal* stance - as for me when it all boils down, regardless of what science/logic or anything else says...regardless of what any logical analytical piece of me may be telling me...I tend to go with what I see/hear/experience.

I'm also aware that isn't *logical* or in any way without fault...as certainly, by the very nature of being human, we can be mistaken.


But this stuff is all around me - every single day - so hey...I can't help but be a believer even if I didn't wish to be.


Peace.

[edit on 11-7-2009 by alien]

I believe that we have no possible way of knowing if the "paranormal" is something we have no effect on or, as some people think, it's the unconscious mind. I also believe that the human mind is capable of so much more than what we can ever measure.

We can never know for sure what is real and what is imagined, it all comes down to faith, your personal convictions. The same goes for religion. Believe what you will and that becomes part your reality. But it is a matter of belief.
Whether it's belief in ghosts, spirits, God or demons, if you believe then it is real. Even if it's only real to you.

That can become a dangerous thing if you can't differentiate between what is happening around you and what your mind believes is happening. Some might argue that there is no difference between the two. The difference for me is that I KNOW I'm sitting down typing on a keyboard right now, but I BELIEVE that there are many forces around me that I have no power over.

Knowledge is attained, beliefs can be changed.

I am open-minded. I'll believe in something when my doubts are silenced. I have no reason to silence my curiosity.

well my stance is this.

if ghost's don't exist then there must not be any afterlife.
then all i have to wait for is pitch black sleep for eternity....
not a good thought .

so they MUST exist..

In the grand scheme of things mankind is still so primitive that his conception of the cosmos is likewise primitive.

and As lagenese said, our intellect is incapable of understanding the reality that surrounds us and our descriptions don't even come close in helping us to understand. Language has it's limitations.

Do cattle understand that they are owned by the rancher and he has just sold them and the truck is on the way to take them to the slaughter house?

Don't worry, it's just an analogy. I hope......

[edit on 13-7-2009 by whaaa]

My personal stance is of belief.

I've had one major experience with the spiritual realm, and then other small ghostly events throughout my 27 years on this earth. Nothing has happened in the past 15 years or so though.

Now we're in the age of digital video/photos, I wish I will be able to capture something, anything! Still, it's all a personal belief.

To be honest, to me the paranormal is just the normal we have not figured out yet. Nothing is unknowable, it just takes time and the ability not to jump to conclusions, trust the scientific method, and most important be honest with what ever conclusion you come to.

Paranormal... It always fascinated me. I believe that FBI, CIA, KGB -- and stuff like that -- keep hiding the truth from us. Sounds cheesy, sure, and has been mentioned here before a thousand times, but I think they "dont want to cause panic" by not telling us. Air Balloons... pfsh. That's why I can't really trust those guys.

Imagine what would happen if some person, like a president, would finally reveal that there are aliens? Quite a shocker it would be for some people.

Originally posted by whaaa
Do cattle understand that they are owned by the rancher and he has just sold them and the truck is on the way to take them to the slaughter house?

Don't worry, it's just an analogy. I hope......
[edit on 13-7-2009 by whaaa]

lol thanks, now we have a new conspiracy to ponder.

I have seen things that there are no rational or idealogic sense of grasping some experiences, sometimes I realize how life like our dream world becomes. There are no bounderies to what we can experience other then where we would like to take our body to experience with our minds.

Our consciousness bends the rules of reality, once we look at something we have already changed it from its original form.

The power of perception is uniquly ours, we register things on a highly concentrated level.

I feel this is a much better thread than it appears.

In answer to your question - I am/was a non-believer - to be more specific - I have my roots firmly in physics and have a wide understanding of the world around us. Thats a result of how I was raised and the first few adult years of my life / the jobs I did and hobbies I had.

I dismissed (with good reason) any and all suggestions of the paranormal.

Then something happened, something that continues to this day, something - 20 years later I can't explain. Others have witnessed and indeed have called upon this 'event' and even after repeated 'demonstarations' they still ask the same question "how do you do it".

I can only answer with what I know - which is absolutely nothing.

I wish I knew more, how to turn it on and off but this knowledge eludes me. (I now think its always 'on' to varying degrees)

This alone has opened my eyes a little but I still have difficulty believing in ghosts/spirits and most other paranormal topics.

I have met some people who clearly are off-the-planet(maybe for real!), crystals and the like. I could explain every occurance in simple real terms - yet they insist thats not the case. I don't believe them.

I guess, even among the true believers (me included) you don't get total acceptance?

SPD

I am more on the believer side, but I have learned not to be so naive about things. I cast a more skeptical eye now. I think being older has made me more "jaded" about certain things.

So, I guess I would say open minded believer, with a side dish of skepticism.

Seeing is believing. Sometimes it's perception. I was in a party enviroment and a pile of cds raised up about a foot and shot across the room. Only two people witnessed this event. A room full of people at a party at that! Sometimes it boils down to being "aware" of your surroundings. That and right circumstances!

I've had so many personal experiences with the "paranormal" and "supernatural" that I like to say I'm not a believer, I'm a knower. If you've seen it yourself, what's left to believe?

My stance is that I will never say flatout something's impossible... because that I haven't seen it (yet) does not necessarily mean it's not real. On the other hand, I'm very, very skeptical -- there are so many charlatans and frauds in New Age circles trying to squeeze money out of gullible people that discernment is critical.

Recently, for example, I went to a psychic and basically ripped her apart. She claimed getting messages from my dead relatives, like my grandma talking about some teapot with a broken lid I'd inherited or some such. I said there was no such thing. The "psychic": "Well, did you inherit anything?" I said, "Just some jewelry," and she honestly tried to tell me that the teapot was a METAPHOR for the jewelry. She definitely got an earful for that. Then my father supposedly showed her a picture of Argyle socks, which he had never worn, and her explanation was, "You may not know now what it means, but you will later." No such luck, lady. This kind of thing just p***es me off to no end.

Oh, and aside from the frauds, let's not forget the mentally ill people that are flocking to the New Age beliefs because there they can get validation for the hallucinations they have and voices they hear. They might be the channel medium you visit, or the visionary that gets "messages from the angels." I'm not saying channeling or getting angel messages can't be real, but there ARE those who delude themselves. Once you get a little experience, those people are rather easy to pick out, though.