QotW-Do you believe in ghosts?
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QotW-Do you believe in ghosts?
| Tue, 12-26-2006 - 2:41pm |
Ghosts, spirits, vaporizations, incarnations... whatever you want to call them, stories about them have been told and passed down for millenia.
This question is inspired by Stormy's post about the child saying he saw a ghost at Christmas. Do you believe in such things? If so, what do you think they are and why are they among us? If not, how would you explain what people believe they see?
Really looking forward to your answers!
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Not all who wander are lost.
(J.R.R. Tolkien)

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I don't think I do.
I guess I have to be honest and say that while I wish there were such things, since I have never experienced one I don't really believe in them.
As for why others see them, wishful thinking? Or maybe power of suggestion? Or maybe they are real and I just haven't been privileged...
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Although I've never seen one myself, I'm inclined to say that yes, I do believe in ghosts. I also believe there are different types.
I believe that many of the classic "haunting"-type ghosts are just energetic impressions left behind for whatever reason after the person died. I don't believe that they are conscious or sentient "beings". I've seen documentaries on these types of ghosts and I believe the scientific explanations are quite fascinating. You know the classic "haunted house" or "haunted abbey" story - the ghost is always said to be seen in one place, or only at a certain time or day of the year, and the ghost is almost always said to have died tragically. They explain it as a residual energy or impression of an event that simply repeats indefinitely, kind of like watching a video and hitting the rewind button and watching the same scene over and over. Infrared technology has actually captured images of real, living people in a location up to several minutes after they've moved, so residual energy is capable of being left behind by all of us. For whatever reason, some residual energy seems to be left behind after certain individuals die - some theories suggest that perhaps the person had some psychic ability in life and therefore had a stronger energy force about them, and/or that a sudden, violent, or tragic death may cause a stronger impression of the person's energy to be left behind. The laws of physics state that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only converted from one form into another. Thus, the total energy of the universe always remains constant. It's all very fascinating, and on a scientific level, the residual energy theory of explaining the classic "haunting" ghost almost seems logical.
Then there are the stories of what seems to be conscious or sentient "spirits" - beings that acknowledge our presence, that seem able to communicate with us, or comfort us, even protect us. The other side of the coin is that these beings are also the ones that seem capable of being mischievous. I'm not sure what to make of these - there are the classic theories that the person had unfinished business they wanted to complete before leaving this world, and of course the "lost soul" theories. But some of these spirits seem perfectly content - not lost, or revengeful - almost like they simply chose to stay behind, like maybe to simply watch over a loved one.
I do believe that both of these types of ghosts exist - although I'm sure there are an incredible number of fabricated stories, I do find it difficult to believe that they would ALL be made up. I've never experienced it myself, but I have heard some pretty compelling stories from people I do trust to be honest.
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