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Ghosts, etc.
- Thread starter Storm
- Start date
Here's the belated OP: I'm looking specifically for people's (preferably) personal anecdotes about an experience that helped convince them of the reality of life after death. I'm looking for specific stories about ghosts primarily, maybe some NDE action if relevant, but afterlife affirming stuff please! I'd prefer those who actually claim a sighting or something themselves, but those who have ideas as to what ghosts are and even an analysis of the claims would be greatly appreciated.
The poll is basic but I was curious what percentage of theists differentiate 'tween a "heavenly afterlife" as opposed to a "haunting the earth" afterlife. Or those who don't accept either.
The poll is basic but I was curious what percentage of theists differentiate 'tween a "heavenly afterlife" as opposed to a "haunting the earth" afterlife. Or those who don't accept either.
Buttercup
Veteran Member
I'm going to copy another post I posted tonight as it's relevant to your thread too.
I'm pretty sure we have a ghost in our house or maybe two.
When we bought our home in 2003, all we knew about the previous owners was they were elderly and had died recently. They left behind some atrocious colors everywhere so before moving in we tore out the carpet, took down all the draperies, painted the entire house and completely refinished the wood floors. When I kept smelling cigarette smoke in the hallway I was baffled. The walls had three coats of paint plus the floors had been stripped, sanded and re-stained, there shouldn't have been any lingering odors at all. For months just before entering our bedroom I would often notice this strong smell of cigarettes but chalked it up to the staying power of tobacco.
One day we were outside working in the yard when we got to chatting with the next door neighbor who had lived in her house for 50 years. I asked her if either of the former owners ever smoked. She said the wife smoked but quit 30 years prior. She also mentioned the woman died in the room across the hall from our bedroom. Very odd.
The other strange events that have happened since are:
A very large mirror in the bathroom (off the same hall) came crashing down for no apparent reason one morning at 3am.
Rick and I both saw a picture in that same hall turn sideways, fall off the nail that held it and crash to the floor.
One morning not long ago I was in the house by myself and was awoken by a very loud buzzing noise that wouldn't stop. I got up, looked outside, checked every room downstairs but still couldn't figure out where that noise was coming from. It was driving me crazy because it was so loud. Finally I went upstairs to the attic. In an unused room, a TV was blasting at full volume but nothing was on the screen, just static. The odd thing was that television had not been turned on in over a year and certainly wasn't left at that volume, it was deafeningly loud. Very strange.
I should say that....I DO believe in ghosts.
http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/../editpost.php?do=editpost&p=1401293
I'm pretty sure we have a ghost in our house or maybe two.
When we bought our home in 2003, all we knew about the previous owners was they were elderly and had died recently. They left behind some atrocious colors everywhere so before moving in we tore out the carpet, took down all the draperies, painted the entire house and completely refinished the wood floors. When I kept smelling cigarette smoke in the hallway I was baffled. The walls had three coats of paint plus the floors had been stripped, sanded and re-stained, there shouldn't have been any lingering odors at all. For months just before entering our bedroom I would often notice this strong smell of cigarettes but chalked it up to the staying power of tobacco.
One day we were outside working in the yard when we got to chatting with the next door neighbor who had lived in her house for 50 years. I asked her if either of the former owners ever smoked. She said the wife smoked but quit 30 years prior. She also mentioned the woman died in the room across the hall from our bedroom. Very odd.
The other strange events that have happened since are:
A very large mirror in the bathroom (off the same hall) came crashing down for no apparent reason one morning at 3am.
Rick and I both saw a picture in that same hall turn sideways, fall off the nail that held it and crash to the floor.
One morning not long ago I was in the house by myself and was awoken by a very loud buzzing noise that wouldn't stop. I got up, looked outside, checked every room downstairs but still couldn't figure out where that noise was coming from. It was driving me crazy because it was so loud. Finally I went upstairs to the attic. In an unused room, a TV was blasting at full volume but nothing was on the screen, just static. The odd thing was that television had not been turned on in over a year and certainly wasn't left at that volume, it was deafeningly loud. Very strange.
I should say that....I DO believe in ghosts.
Buttercup
Veteran Member
Also, I read that when construction has occurred this event can "stir up" the ghosts. Off that hallway we took out an old closet and refashioned a new one so there definitely were some walls smashed and torn down before we moved in.
If I think of any other odd events I'll come back and post them. I know there are more that I'm not remembering. And, the ghosts seem pretty benevolent for the most part.
Last edited:
stacey bo bacey
oh no you di'int
stacey bo bacey
oh no you di'int
Well...I don't believe we have souls or spirits or whatnot...but everyone has an energy, of course. I believe that "goes on" (don't wanna say lives on) or turns into something else when we die. I don't believe in god or an afterlife but ghosts are a VERY definite possibility.
I mean...think of all the smart, rational, level-headed people (like Buttercup) who have had these experiences. Not all of those people can be wrong...or off their rockers.
I mean...think of all the smart, rational, level-headed people (like Buttercup) who have had these experiences. Not all of those people can be wrong...or off their rockers.
Buttercup
Veteran Member
Umm, yeah.Like actual ****?
But all I've ever smelled is cigarettes.
stacey bo bacey
oh no you di'int
Umm, yeah.
That is very interesting!!
So what is your "other" belief?
Draka
Wonder Woman
I don't believe in the biblical heaven. I believe in Summerland/Otherrealm though. Sort of a "vacation" spot to self analyze before reincarnation. Your time spent there is dependent on you and your spiritual progress and karma. I believe in ghosts and believe they are two different kinds of spirits. Those who "haunt" are spirits that either don't realize they are dead or, for some reason, cling to their earthly ways because they may feel like they have unfinished business or a host of other reasons. There are other spirits who are actually "visitors" from Summerland. They traverse the veil between the physical and the astral. They may come and go if they please and communicate with those in the physical realm if they so desire and if the physical receipient of such communication is open and receptive to the astral.
Buttercup
Veteran Member
Wow, how does one get to that point in spirit land? Do you want to start a thread? Would be very interesting to those of us who are ignorant.
.lava
Veteran Member
hi
don't you ever meet dead relatives in your dreams? they are alive there. they would not disappear after you wake up. you wake up from one dream to another. until after life -as hell and heaven- begins, all the people who passed away lives in other dimension. in our dreams we go to other dimension. they leave body the vehicle but they keep on living.
.
Circle_One
Well-Known Member
I'm in the same boat as Draka with this (if you'd like, Sugriva, I could edit the poll to throw in an "other" option).
Being Kemetic, I don't believe in the "biblical" afterlife, however, we do have our own afterlife beliefs. I believe in Aaru, or the Field of Reeds where one's soul goes, once it has been judged pure of heart, and is then able to make the journey to Aaru to meet with Osiris and spend eternity living their "second-life". However, those who's hearts aren't deemed light enough to journey onto Aaru, will have their souls devoured by Ammit and will cease to exist.
As far as ghosts go, I believe in them and have had a couple of encounters with them. My belief of where ghosts comes from echoes Draka's "visitor" belief. As Aaru is a "second life" for our souls, I believe those dwelling there are able to break through the barriers of life and death to communicate with those of the living, if they are able to find a soul that is open to communication.
Sure, I have dreams of dead folks, living folks, and folks that never existed- that's just evidence of a healthy brain, and nothing to do with the persistance of consciousness after death.hi
don't you ever meet dead relatives in your dreams? they are alive there. they would not disappear after you wake up. you wake up from one dream to another. until after life -as hell and heaven- begins, all the people who passed away lives in other dimension. in our dreams we go to other dimension. they leave body the vehicle but they keep on living.
But I have yet to see anything even remotely reliable as evidence to support any form of consciousness surviving after death; mind is too intimately linked to the brain and nervous system for anything resembling "thought" to persist after death. I think ghosts are cultural creations, visual misinterpretations and tall tales embellished in the retelling. Psychology, sociology and cultural anthropological explanations are more than sufficient to expose the phenomena for what it is: human's predilection for imposing patterns on their environment as filtered through cultural preconceptions. We are as non-existent after our deaths as we are before our conception.
This is basically a copy and paste from another forum of a ghost encounter I had as a kid. It seems appropriate here:
When I was about four my family moved to the darkest, most remote forests of Oregon. Our driveway was a gravel road that stretched for over a mile before it hit asphalt; our nearest neighbor was over two miles away. So the previous owner of this house had a massive heart attack and died on the roof a few months before. And his elderly wife had no idea what had happened to him and didn't report him missing until several days later where the police eventually found his corpse on the roof (mind you this is Oregon, and the house had a level roof with no slant to easily allow rainfall to slide off. So the guy's body had been festering in mossy rainwater for days). So growing up there we had many ghostly experiences: I remember hearing glass breaking in the kitchen after everyone was asleep only to go out and find nothing but an open cabinet drawer. The obligatory stomping on the roof, the sound of a body collapsing heavily as well. Pale, moss encrusted faces peering through the dark windows.....
One night when I was about 7 or 8, I awoke to an odd sound, a sweeping or brushing noise that emanated from the corner of the room's ceiling. I stared into the darkness until my eyes adjusted and I saw a writhing mass of human-shaped shadow rolling across the ceiling and emitting a low guttural moan. It was like a tangle of hair sculpted into a person's form that was twitching and quivering. I then remember drifting back into sleep as if I had no control over my body. My brothers had similar tales of ghostly occurences and horrific encounters.
Of course it turned out that there never was a guy who died on the roof. In fact the previous owners were a young hippy couple that had moved to Portland since the husband had been promoted in his law firm. To this day I have no idea who instigated the legend of the guy dying up there: my older brother maybe, my dad telling tall tales, a schoolmate mentioning it- I don't know. Anyway, the folklore was so persuasive that over the years we'd invented ghostly scenarios where none were. Our imaginations were so attuned to expecting the unusual that any creak or groan was amplified as stomping corpses or screaming ghosts. Glimpses of movement out of the corners of our eyes were warped in our misperceptions as cadavers pressing up against the windows. The broken glass was just that, a glass that had slowly, imperceptibly slipped off the other glass it had been stacked on and fell in the middle of the night (my mom stacked glassed 3 or 4 high in the cupboards). In retrospect my "shadow ceiling" dream was likely the result of hypnagogic sleep hyped up by my expectations (I've had sleep paralysis for as long as I can remember).
I was lucky enough to experience an urban legend from beginning to end. That's pretty damned cool.
That'd be cool- thx!Circle_One said:
Circle_One
Well-Known Member
Edited
I have a story,not so much a Ghost story but strange happenings,i used to be very sceptical about such things but about ten years ago my wife had some freinds around for Coffee and one of them was a Medium.
Anyway i just put my headphones on (one Man 5 Women what chance did i have) and read the paper,after a while i noticed the lady who is a Medium with a ring on the end of some cotton,i could not hear what was being said but i watched this ring go up and down and round and round.
I thought that the Medium must be moving it purposely as i lifted one side of my earphones off and i could hear what was being said,my wife and her freinds were asking questions and the Medium was replying yes or no according to the ring moving up and down or in circles.
Once they had all gone and my wife went to collect the kids from school i thought i would have a go,i kept a tight grip on the cotton holding the ring and it moved in circles then stopped then moved again,i thought its just a gimmick.
That evening i was sitting watching the TV and behind me it became very cold at the back of the couch where i was sitting,i just put it down to a draft,a little while later a pot containing a plant fell off of the sideboard on the other side of the room and nobody was even near it.
In the evening about 10ish my wife went to bed while i watched Football on the TV and the cold behind me was still there,anyway this carried on for another day and the next evening the cold seemed to have spread and i remember thinking i must check the double glazing tommorow.
I then went to bed,it was about 11pm,i went to the bathroom showered and brushed my teeth,the hairs on the back of my neck were tingling and i had a sense of being watchei laughed to myself how silly that is,i went to our room,opened the door and closed it behind me,i got into bed and the door opened and i expected my youngest Son to come through it wanting something but there was no one there,my wife put down the book she was reading and turned off her lamp and said shut the door,i laughed and said dont worry the ghost will do that and the door closed.
My wife put her lamp on and looked at me as if to say whats going on,next thing that happened the bed where i was laying sunk at the edge and i could feel something against my thigh,something cold,i jumped out of bed but there was nothing there.
The problem when you experience something like this is you feel like a complete idiot because you yourselve would not believe it,things continued to happen for a few days then fizzled out but it still makes me laugh when i think of my wife hiding under the covers,phew that was llongggg
Anyway i just put my headphones on (one Man 5 Women what chance did i have) and read the paper,after a while i noticed the lady who is a Medium with a ring on the end of some cotton,i could not hear what was being said but i watched this ring go up and down and round and round.
I thought that the Medium must be moving it purposely as i lifted one side of my earphones off and i could hear what was being said,my wife and her freinds were asking questions and the Medium was replying yes or no according to the ring moving up and down or in circles.
Once they had all gone and my wife went to collect the kids from school i thought i would have a go,i kept a tight grip on the cotton holding the ring and it moved in circles then stopped then moved again,i thought its just a gimmick.
That evening i was sitting watching the TV and behind me it became very cold at the back of the couch where i was sitting,i just put it down to a draft,a little while later a pot containing a plant fell off of the sideboard on the other side of the room and nobody was even near it.
In the evening about 10ish my wife went to bed while i watched Football on the TV and the cold behind me was still there,anyway this carried on for another day and the next evening the cold seemed to have spread and i remember thinking i must check the double glazing tommorow.
I then went to bed,it was about 11pm,i went to the bathroom showered and brushed my teeth,the hairs on the back of my neck were tingling and i had a sense of being watchei laughed to myself how silly that is,i went to our room,opened the door and closed it behind me,i got into bed and the door opened and i expected my youngest Son to come through it wanting something but there was no one there,my wife put down the book she was reading and turned off her lamp and said shut the door,i laughed and said dont worry the ghost will do that and the door closed.
My wife put her lamp on and looked at me as if to say whats going on,next thing that happened the bed where i was laying sunk at the edge and i could feel something against my thigh,something cold,i jumped out of bed but there was nothing there.
The problem when you experience something like this is you feel like a complete idiot because you yourselve would not believe it,things continued to happen for a few days then fizzled out but it still makes me laugh when i think of my wife hiding under the covers,phew that was llongggg