S/O - Do you believe in ghosts?

Celles

I'm a very "science or it didn't happen!" kind of a person. Hence the atheism.   

That said, reading A Wrinkle in Time in elementary school was a life-changing experience for me. The scene in which Meg attempts to explain light and color to a blind alien race made me realize that what we perceive as reality is really just the brain's subjective interpretation of data gleaned from the world by five very limited senses. So while I don't believe in the supernatural, per se, I am willing to acknowledge that our definition of natural is perhaps narrower than it should be. I imagine that animals that have additional senses (bats and dolphins have echolocation and sharks can translate electricity), or just different perceptions from the same senses, have very different "realities" than we do.

So, basically: I don't believe in ghosts, but I do believe that some supernatural phenomena could actually be natural phenomena that we lack the proper senses -- and therefore environmental context -- to properly perceive. And I think that sharks are mindreaders, because what are thoughts but electricity?

What about you?  

This is a post and run because I'm heading into a meeting in a few minutes.

NatesGirl16

I acknowledge the possibility.

I firmly believe that reality is subjective (probably not surprising for a lit major :P) and I agree that our definition of "real" is not necessarily accurate.

anna.oskar

Logically and scientifically, i don't believe.

BUT  i have seen and experienced things that can only be sufficiently explained by a paranormal event.    Intuition can also be a powerful thing.    At what point do it cease to be intuition and become physic ability?

AllAboutTheBenjamin

Because of some family history and whatnot, yes, indeed I do believe in ghosts.  And I hope to God I never see one because... holy eff.

jasmineh7777

I really, really want to.
 Because if there ARE ghosts, then there's an afterlife too right?
 So I really hope there are.

LessThanZero

This explanation probably won't make any sense but I'll give it a shot.

I don't know if I "believe" in ghosts because I really don't believe in things until I see them.

But I do believe in the possibility- as in I don't discredit the idea or people's experiences with ghosts, spirits etc.

ETA: When I say "believe in things until i see them" I mean in a general sense. Obviously I've never seen the planet Mercury in person, but that doesn't mean I don't believe it's there.

crose29

I do believe in ghosts. I have never witnessed any but I believe in other people I knows experiences.

Y I Oughta

I am currently reading A Wrinkle in Time,(look under my sig) but I'm not to that part yet. Thanks for ruining it.  . Yes, I fully believe in ghost because I have had personal experiences with things I cannot explain. I honestly think I have had one following me for a long time, and I've seen and heard a little boy talk to me then disappear.

SarahPLiz

Yes, I believe that spirits exist outside of human bodies in my realm of consciousness. 

Knottie1457761448

I definitely do.  Mostly from personal experience.

mehgank

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_believe-ghosts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:f6a2752e-94c4-4f17-89ce-2dc7cfa0acb3Post:ae6687b5-cae9-4e5c-a1dd-a2ba4fb94d97">Re: S/O - Do you believe in ghosts?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm a believer.  Hands down. 
Posted by Dot Dash[/QUOTE]

You're back??????


o.O

AllAboutTheBenjamin

Well, now I have to hear (or, read, whatever) april's personal experience.

LeslieMPC

I believe. Im a big fan of the paranormal, but I limit what I watch and/or read about it. Because then Im jumping at every little noise in my house and freaking out when my cat starts starring up at one spot for any amount of time. I'm a big ole chicken but there is just something about the paranormal that just draws me right on in.

I also believe that children are more attentive (for lack of better word) to ghosts and everything paranormal because the "idea" hasnt been beaten out of them that "No, its not real, it/they dont exist."  Anmials too.

 

[Deleted User]

I used to say I didn't believe in ghosts in an attempt to pretend they don't exist. Then I found myself terrified by a curtain moving on its own and my cat staring at nothing in the air and decided that yup, I definitely believe in ghosts and can admit it.

My H is very science-minded and "believe it when I see it" and it drives me nuts sometimes because he totally disregards some things as fiction just because there is no scientific proof. I'm a firm believer that some things simply don't have an answer, or can't be explained in a nice tidy box.

Then again, my living involves making shiit up all day long, so believing in far-fetched things is pretty easy for me.

Knottie1457761448

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_believe-ghosts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:f6a2752e-94c4-4f17-89ce-2dc7cfa0acb3Post:6054d0b3-7e25-468f-804a-786aa8dc3168">Re: S/O - Do you believe in ghosts?</a>:
[QUOTE]Well, now I have to hear (or, read, whatever) april's personal experience.
Posted by AllAboutTheBenjamin[/QUOTE]

<div>I have a few, heh.</div><div>
</div><div>My mom's friend died very young and he visits her house EVERY SINGLE YEAR on his birthday.  Mostly to cause mayhem.  Growing up I remember every single time he was there.  Bookcases that weighed at least 200 pounds would be knocked over despite being bolted into the wall, the strangest things would happen.  Once a year, only on his birthday, and at the same time.</div><div>
</div><div>My aunt is a seer (for real, I would not make this up) and she's done seances with us and I could never even begin to explain the stuff that happened during them. Ever.</div>

Girlie1030

Koda - that cracked me up! 

I've heard stories, which I believe the teller truly believes happened, but I've never experienced anything first hand so I'm still undecided.

Blueyed228

Well obviously I do.

I guess the only way to explain why I do is that just because you have never experienced it, doesnt mean its not real or that it doesnt exist.  And when I hear people have such a definite 'no" on the subject its hard for me to understand.  It would be like if I cant see the color blue.  If I told you since i cant see it, then it doesnt exist, you would look at me like im crazy.  I guess that is how i feel about people who dont believe in ghosts/spirits/etc.  For me, since its so common, its hard to wrap my head around non-believers thoughts on it.

SarahPLiz

Also, I know it conflicts with my normal logical self, but I do believe and have had positive experiences so far, mostly when I was a kid. Spirits of my ancestors are way more real to me than God. Take that for what its worth. 

Blueyed228

And to add, I think there is a difference between seeing a "ghost" and being able to connect with the spirit world (for lack of a better word).

Knottie1457761448

Also, one time a woman stopped me in a supermarket parking lot to tell me there was a black dog following me.

My black standard poodle had died earlier that week.

jasmineh7777

I think I'm the opposite of the "see to believe" mentality. Just because I can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there. There are millions of things I will never see or understand.

K&J64

I believe, I have a spirit that follows me around. J claims to have seen it above me while I was sleeping once. It's benevolent, no harm, no foul. Probably what I heard in the hallway the other night when I had to go investigate armed with my cuticle scissors too.

Tamma254

At the risk of embarrassing myself again, I have to say that I do believe. Mainly from person expriences, and through my own research.

But I take the shows with a grain of salt.

[Deleted User]

I freaked H out last night when we were watching TV. We were watching Justified, and on commercial breaks he would play his video game. Eventually I'd say "show" and he'd turn it back just as it was coming back on. He is now convinced I have some kind of special ability (apparently because he could "see" that I was predicting the show) when really I was watching the clock.

That being said, I do believe there are people out there with those abilities.

anna.oskar

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_believe-ghosts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:f6a2752e-94c4-4f17-89ce-2dc7cfa0acb3Post:80014e11-f3f4-4c94-9872-cd0383bfc740">Re: S/O - Do you believe in ghosts?</a>:
[QUOTE]At the risk of embarrassing myself again, I have to say that I do believe. Mainly from person expriences, and through my own research. <strong>But I take the shows with a grain of salt.</strong>
Posted by Tamma254[/QUOTE]


some of those shows are ridiculous.    i was watching one and every time they picked up a "voice" they'de be all llike, "OMG did you hear it say it wants to kill danny and with an ax??!!!"  AND  I totally would hear the sound and it obviously said "I've killed many and you'll be next."

SO dumb

SarahPLiz

I grew up on family land, and when we moved to La from Tx and were building our house, we lived in a house that had been built by my great grandparents. My dad tells me stories of hearing me crying at night and then suddenly stopping. He'd come into my room and the cradle would be gently rocking. My sister was fast asleep. He is convinced that it was his grandmother, and actually talked to her once and told her it was ok, and the cradle stopped rocking.  He is very in touch with the spirits of his ancestors, and they give him (and me) comfort. 

I think when most people think of ghost stories, they think of scary occurences, where a spirit has tried to make themselves known or noticed for one reason or another. All of my experiences have been quite the opposite, where they were just there to help and did not materialize. It was only a sense that someone was there as a comfort, a warm or cold spot in the room, my mysteriously rocking cradle, singing that I'd hear outside my window. We never did a Ouija board or called on them or antagonized them, There was a definite mutual respect. When I was at home, those things never bothered me. They actually comfort me. If I was to go to someone else's house and encounter an unfamiliar spirit, it would scare the living daylights out of me. I can't watch those paranormal shows or movies at all. They terrify me, mostly because I don't want to believe that there are spirits out there that will do evil for the sake of evil. 

LeslieMPC

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_believe-ghosts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:f6a2752e-94c4-4f17-89ce-2dc7cfa0acb3Post:9476fe70-b611-4af5-8b0c-0724bfb5f6f8">Re: S/O - Do you believe in ghosts?</a>:
[QUOTE]I'm a firm believer that some things simply don't have an answer, or can't be explained in a nice tidy box.
Posted by Seshat411[/QUOTE]

This too.

I've never had any experiences but I know other people who have. I do, however have a very strong sense of intuition.

My Godchild used to see people that werent there. He would be playing by himself and his Mom said sometimes he would stop, look at something for a while and then ask her "Who's that?" and point to nothing. When she told him, no ones there, he would ask again.
Her Dad died before he was born and she has a picture of him on her bedroom wall and my Godchild would tell her "Take the Bill off the wall" Her Dads name was Bill. So she'd take the picture down and he'd go about doing whatever he was doing. But most of the time he'd come running back saying "Put the Bill back on the wall, the dark monsters are coming." It used to freak her out but she tried not to make a big deal out of it. Once the picture was back up, he's go back to playing like nothing was wrong.

Girlie1030

I keep thinking about that scene in Contact where Ellie and Palmer are talking about faith and Ellie says she needs proof...  Palmer asks her "Did you love your father?" and when she answers yes, he says "Prove it.".  I think for a lot of people believing in the supernatural is a lot like having faith in a "higher power" - it's not that you've seen hard evidence of it's existence but rather a feeling, a hunch, you have that allows you to believe. 

AllAboutTheBenjamin

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_believe-ghosts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:f6a2752e-94c4-4f17-89ce-2dc7cfa0acb3Post:80014e11-f3f4-4c94-9872-cd0383bfc740">Re: S/O - Do you believe in ghosts?</a>:
[QUOTE]At the risk of embarrassing myself again, I have to say that I do believe. Mainly from person expriences, and through my own research. But I take the shows with a grain of salt.
Posted by Tamma254[/QUOTE]

Well if you're marrying a Paranormal Investigator and you said you DIDN'T believe... well, then.  Yeah.

Tamma254

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_believe-ghosts?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:f6a2752e-94c4-4f17-89ce-2dc7cfa0acb3Post:863d3952-65c4-4c17-8da1-3eb2b153362c">Re: S/O - Do you believe in ghosts?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: S/O - Do you believe in ghosts? : some of those shows are ridiculous.    i was watching one and every time they picked up a "voice" they'de be all llike, "OMG did you hear it say it wants to kill danny and with an ax??!!!"  AND  I totally would hear the sound and it obviously said "I've killed many and you'll be next." SO dumb
Posted by anna.oskar[/QUOTE]

Yes, Very.

In the past couple of years, I've met a couple of the more experienced Investigators in the country, and you should hear some of the things they say about the shows.

Those guys are a RIOT.

Anyone heard of The Entity, came out in the early '80's based on a real case in LA?

jasmineh7777

Tamma, I'd love to hear about some of your experiences.

I've got a few stories, but I think everyone's heard them before.