Do you believe in ghosts?

[Elegant Winter]

Sometimes I do; sometimes I don't.

 

[PintoBean]

I basically do. And I don't even know why as I've never really seen one. I am like "hey self, stop with that irrational thinking!" But it's basically a belief (or feeling?) that I can't deny.

 

[Sriracha]

Yes. I've had things happen that could possibly be explained as something else ... so that is the road I would take, so I could live with it. lol I know I've explained these things somewhere on this forum, so I don't care to rehash it again.

 

[Flygirl]

Yes, I have seen things and experienced things paranormal. So yes, there are things out there that defy explanation.

 

[Scientia]

I don't want to because it seems ridiculous but based on experiences I have had, I reluctantly do.

 

[flower]

Yes, I believe.

 

[Skarekrow]

I have a question for the Christian crowd:

Do any of you NOT believe in ghosts, spirits, demons...how do you resolve that with your religious beliefs?

 

[Eventhorizon]

So whats the verdict here? Does believing in something make it real?

 

[Sriracha]

So whats the verdict here? Does believing in something make it real?

It definitely can.

 

[JJJA]

It definitely can.

If there is no evidence to provide a belief system with the mandate to claim itself as fact, then it is not real. If it were real, it wouldn't require faith.

 

[Elegant Winter]

If there is no evidence to provide a belief system with the mandate to claim itself as fact, then it is not real. If it were real, it wouldn't require faith.

 

[sprinkles]

Belief is a tool. Just look at Christmas and how Santa Claus is still a thing. Also look at organized religion.

Belief incites action whether what is believed exists or not. The existence of the believed is rather inconsequential in comparison to the actions of the believer.

 

[just me]

Some don't believe in us. Ruff.

 

[housel]

I have a question for the Christian crowd:

Do any of you NOT believe in ghosts, spirits, demons...how do you resolve that with your religious beliefs?

Don't know about others but I've accepted all that seems right (not much) and rejected rest..

 

[Flygirl]

I have a question for the Christian crowd:

Do any of you NOT believe in ghosts, spirits, demons...how do you resolve that with your religious beliefs?

I am Christian. And like I said earlier, I do believe in the existence of ghosts and demons and evil spirits and such. This does not affect nor contradict my religious beliefs because even in the Bible, there are several places where these entities are mentioned. There is even a particular instance of Jesus himself casting out an evil spirit from a man who was possessed.

 

[Ryso89]

Yes. They are absolutely real. I have seen the physical manifestation of the half-torso of a man, also confirmed by my dog going ape-shit at the sight of him. I've heard voices in the pitch black darkness and silence of my space before sleep, and have seen light anomalies manifest at the same time of said experiences. I have also experienced a spiritual (whether spiritual or demonic I am unsure) attempted possession, something that can only be understood in depth by those who have had similar experiences or understand the paranormal. Regardless, the latter was a very dark and negative experience.


I know many people who don't believe, including a lot of friends, and that is fine. It is understandable for many to not believe without seeing or experiencing things for themselves. One thing to consider though; is how the universe itself works. Think in terms of energy, vibrations, and frequency; all properties of the universe. Energy, being the primary component. All energy can not die, it can only transform. This very principal can also be applied to human consciousness. Certainly it wouldn't make sense to inhabit the body once it has died. Our energy simply transforms within the electromagnetic spectrum.

 

[Flygirl]

Yes. They are absolutely real. I have seen the physical manifestation of the half-torso of a man, also confirmed by my dog going ape-shit at the sight of him. I've heard voices in the pitch black darkness and silence of my space before sleep, and have seen light anomalies manifest at the same time of said experiences. I have also experienced a spiritual (whether spiritual or demonic I am unsure) attempted possession, something that can only be understood in depth by those who have had similar experiences or understand the paranormal. Regardless, the latter was a very dark and negative experience.QUOTE]

I've had things visit me in my dorm room in college that I can only assume were "shadow people". Funny thing.. I always heard a loud screeching sound in my head before every appearance and I wud go numb n be unable to move, like I was having sleep paralysis. I could not move but was conscious of my surroundings... The sights, sounds n smell. If I was asleep before a visit, I would inevitably wake up, hear the screech n see the things next to my bed. And I would shut my eyes real tight n pray really hard. Another funny thing.. I never remember how these visits end. All I know is I pray really hard n when I open my eyes again, its usually morning (if it happens at night) or a few hours hv passed. I can only assume that I probably passed out everytime from the fear.

I've experienced light and sound anomalies as well. I've had my bedside clock tell time backwards once. I shook the thing hard and it never happened again. I've had an OBE once and I didn't even know what that was until I told a friend and he told me wow.. You had an OBE. And last but not least, I've had the grim reaper (I kid you not) visit me, get on top of me, put his left hand over my face so I could see through the spaces between his fingers, and whisper into my left ear, a language I could not understand but sounded strange and ancient.

Many such instances and no explanation. Some of my friends thought I was schizophrenic. Some thought I was doing drugs. Some thought I had gone insane. I thought I had gone insane!

Now though, I've just decided to tune it all out. I know I am very susceptible to tapping into that frequency for whatever reason. But I consciously choose not to. I know they are out there but I choose not to get involved.

 

[Eventhorizon]

For those of you who see ghosts I would like to say the following. All of the times you have seen them or believed they were there, had I been there I would have seen nothing. Maybe I would have heard noises but I would have bee successfully been able to offer better explanations as to where those come from.
Knowing this, does it mean I am less in tune with whatever allows people to see and experience these things? Or does it mean people who see these things potentially have something going on with them that others do not?

 

[Skarekrow]

For those of you who see ghosts I would like to say the following. All of the times you have seen them or believed they were there, had I been there I would have seen nothing. Maybe I would have heard noises but I would have bee successfully been able to offer better explanations as to where those come from.
Knowing this, does it mean I am less in tune with whatever allows people to see and experience these things? Or does it mean people who see these things potentially have something going on with them that others do not?

It just means you haven’t really had a true experience.
Things don’t violently crash and move for no reason as you and other’s witness it.
It’s fine, I would be just as skeptical if I hadn’t had my own experiences (which I guess was an optical illusion or hallucination, or I was temporarily psychotic but then so would be the other people) I probably would think people mistaken, or it be in their heads somehow.
I did my research, tested ways to recreate what happened…I even called the USGS to see if we had an earthquake…though how an earthquake could physically do that is beyond me?
Seeing a ghost or having an experience is a rarity overall in the population though as you can see about half and half believe in them.
Even more believe in things like angels and such.
Anyhow…it being a rarity…yes, otherwise we would have some working theory other than - they’re dead people/stone record theory.
But some quite brilliant and famous people have had their own experiences…for my own…it could have been a ghost but like I’ve said before then it would next most likely be some kind of PSI phenomena (which would allow for ghosts to also exist technically).
I really don’t know what happened those two times other than the normal laws of physics were temporarily fucked up…maybe it was just a glitch in the game?

 

[Skarekrow]

I am Christian. And like I said earlier, I do believe in the existence of ghosts and demons and evil spirits and such. This does not affect nor contradict my religious beliefs because even in the Bible, there are several places where these entities are mentioned. There is even a particular instance of Jesus himself casting out an evil spirit from a man who was possessed.

Oh, I believe.
I wasn’t trying to pick on anyone…but there are some Christians who adamantly believe in things like ghosts and demons and then you have the complete opposite it seems…I was only curious as to why, but I can only assume it’s just the way they taught things in that particular sect of the religion.