Do you believe in ghosts? I don't. I don't need to believe in ghosts... or Bigfoot or psychic phenomena. There is enough evidence for me to conclude that these phenomena are very real possibilities. For example, ghost and haunting phenomena have been documented nearly since the beginning of written human history. We don't understand what they really are, but they are part of the human experience worthy of investigation. So we should not get caught up in rigid beliefs about these mysteries. The paranormal should not be a belief system, but an ongoing journey of exploration. Read more.
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What are you talking about? There is absolutely NO evidence that ghosts, bigfoot or psychic phenomena are real.
When a person sees something before them not of this reality they become a experiencer and in a sense may feel alone and isolated with their memory of the encounter. Even not able to get sensible feedback from family and friends so in retreat may start to ‘explore’ paranormal and ufo/et throught internet and reading books. Stephen was meant to create his blogsite and also Billy with Ufo and Aliens..as it all shall not go away.
Medusa — You are uninformed. There certainly is evidence. Perhaps what you meant is that there is no proof. Indeed, there is no PROOF for these phenomena, but there is evidence for them.
I think much of the problem surrounding trying to study anything about the paranormal does involve rigidity of thinking. One thing I have noticed is that both true believers and true skeptics both ascribe an enormous amount of significance to anything paranormal. It obscures rational thought and discourages intelligent questioning.
Good article! I do think one of the biggest hindrances to paranormal research is the lack of skepticism. We should always be looking for a normal explanation for anything that happens and throwing out any evidence that is contaminated.
I think there is a bit a semantic problem with the word “belief” though. We apply it to other things like say evolution or the stock market and those both have tons of science or math behind them. So belief doesn’t necessarily mean a leap of faith based on no empirical evidence. It just means a subject is controversial enough and has enough for and against evidence to still leave the jury out for a lot of people.
Sadguru jaggi vasudev’s lectures (available in You Tube) gives us somewhat a clear idea of how to comprehend the paranormal.In his
words it is not paranormal though,but experiencing things,by coming
out of our five senses.As you say,we must not believe,but must try
sincierly and desperately,to experience things which are more of a reality than things we presently experience!
Look, all that “belief” means is “the state of mind of someone who says, ‘Yes, that is true.’” It may mean to affirm something without sufficient reason, but it does not always mean that. It may mean to affirm something with religious conviction, but it does not always mean that,either.
So I might say, “Yes, I believe the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941,” because there is a large body of evidence that points to that.
Or I might say, “I believe we’ll get another snowstorm before winter is over,” because I think it likely, though not certain.
Any joker can come along with a private definition for a word and try to look smart by criticizing people who don’t use the word his way. That’s just a cheap high-school trick.