I think you understood the OP's question as he intended you to. Yes, we all do use these terms differently, and sometimes that does create confusion. I asked the question I did because I actually do believe that the spirit (as you understood the term) is matter. It's just such a highly refined matter that it's invisible to the naked eye. And even that statement needs clarification. How can a person claim to have "seen" a spirit if a spirit cannot be seen? I believe that ordinarily, a spirit cannot be seen, but that under certain conditions this may not be the case.
I guess I can chime in on an answer. I view spirit as energy. When you have friction and youbrub your hand near someone else, you may see a spark. Its not tangible and its there. Other times we see spirit or energy in form of lightening. We have a longer time to discipher it as a lightening bolt.
Then you have our energy or auras. A lot of religions say its so strong you can Actually not metaphorically nor supernaturally sense another person. A lot of times it comes when we are grieving, or have high states of emotion where we are literally more open and aware to whats around us subconsciously.
When I and many people seen spirits or experience them normally its because something has happened (say someone passed on) or is happening (getting baptised) among other things.
We can see energy and experiencen it. Whether we attribute it to a person, god, tree, or mind is up tonthat persons belief and way of looking at the world. At the end, the world doesnt depend on us.
So, spirit exists without our existence. To see it, you have to be more intuned with people and your environment. And be open.
