Real or not?

[Banach-Tarski Paradox]

Who was Des Crates?

There was a guy who thought he was, but he was wrong.

 

[The Hammer]

The cup on my table is real. The plate that I just hallucinated on my table is not real. I rest my case.

Prove it.

 

[Stevicus]

There are those that claim they can see and talk to spirits but could they be just hallucinations?

Could be one or the other. My grandfather claimed to see spirits. Even my father said that he saw a dead uncle walking across the hospital room he was in while he was on his death bed. I suppose he could have been seeing a spirit or maybe just dreaming or hallucinating - I honestly don't know.

I've never seen any spirits. I don't think I'd even want to see any spirits. If I was with a group of people looking for ghosts, I would surely be the "Shaggy" of the group.

 

[Nakosis]

Internal would be fake, external would be real

All of our perceptions are the result of an internal process. However some originate as external stimulus. At least we assume they do.
So then only perceptions which result from external stimulus you'd consider as "real".

Your memories of past events then are not real?

 

[Nakosis]

Who was Des Crates?

René Descartes (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

 

[Jimmy]

All of our perceptions are the result of an internal process. However some originate as external stimulus. At least we assume they do.
So then only perceptions which result from external stimulus you'd consider as "real".

Your memories of past events then are not real?

you know what they say about assuming things

 

[Nakosis]

you know what they say about assuming things

That is why it is better to ask.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

The cup on my table is real. The plate that I just hallucinated on my table is not real. I rest my case.

Yeah, that assumes that you have solved several epistemological problems. You could start with the evil demon by Descartes.

 

[Secret Chief]

René Descartes (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Yeah it was your spelling!

 

[SalixIncendium]

There are those that claim they can see and talk to spirits but could they be just hallucinations?

Yes.

Apologies for being verbose.

 

[Secret Chief]

Yes.

Apologies for being verbose.

Same.

 

[Jimmy]

All of our perceptions are the result of an internal process. However some originate as external stimulus. At least we assume they do.
So then only perceptions which result from external stimulus you'd consider as "real".

Your memories of past events then are not real?

This conversation is getting a little weird for me.

 

[Twilight Hue]

There are those that claim they can see and talk to spirits but could they be just hallucinations?

They could be real to the person but no one else leading one to conclude its just them and them alone with their thoughts and personal vision.

 

[Jimmy]

They could be real to the person but no one else leading one to conclude its just them and them alone with their thoughts and personal vision.

most people that see a ghost probably see it alone. Conveniently…

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

This conversation is getting a little weird for me.

Standard in regards to empiricism.

 

[Twilight Hue]

most people that see a ghost probably see it alone. Conveniently…

It's usually the case.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

Could be one or the other. My grandfather claimed to see spirits. Even my father said that he saw a dead uncle walking across the hospital room he was in while he was on his death bed. I suppose he could have been seeing a spirit or maybe just dreaming or hallucinating - I honestly don't know.

My husband's grandmother claimed to see her deceased husband standing beside her bed just before she died. She said that he had told her that it was time for her to join him. She turned to face the side of her bed, reached out her hand, smiled, and then took her final breath. I wasn't there when she died, but I've been with my close friends when they died. So I can confirm that it is not uncommon for a dying person to claim to have seen a deceased loved one or pet right before they died. I've also read some articles in which hospice nurses verify this common phenomenon, including this one: Hospice nurse shares the one thing 'almost everyone' sees before they die. So it's not an unusual occurrence. I'd like to say that admitting, "I honestly don't know," is the most honest thing that someone who hasn't seen a spirit or experienced what I've experienced in my life can say on this topic. I appreciate your honesty.

 

[Sgt. Pepper]

I've never seen any spirits.

Maybe you will someday.

I firmly believe that "seeing is believing," as I've witnessed with many skeptics of the paranormal for nearly seventeen years.

I don't think I'd even want to see any spirits.

My husband felt the same way prior to his personal encounters with spirits. He was scared the first couple of times he participated in my paranormal investigations, but he isn't usually afraid anymore. I believe this is because he observes how I handle my interactions with spirits at haunted locations, as well as how I handle them in our home. So he feels more confident to handle any unusual paranormal activity he witnesses with me at haunted locations.

If I was with a group of people looking for ghosts, I would surely be the "Shaggy" of the group.

As I explained to my husband, earthbound spirits were once living people, so if you treat them with respect, they will generally treat you with respect. If you're rude to them, they will treat you in kind. But if you provoke them, they will retaliate. Keep in mind that you can't see them, but they can see you.

 

[Stonetree]

TRUE STORY TIME! OK, so I had accidental carbon monoxide poisoning, and wow, the pile of laundry on the floor just looked SO inviting (I should have known then there was something messed up in my brain). I laid down and fell asleep and that is when I should have died, but NOOOOOOOOO. I believe it was my guardian angel who woke me up with this terrible voice, saying urgently, 'WAKE UP, WAKE UP." I didn't want to, believe me, but the voice was incessant, and eventually I did wake up and sit up. Immediately my head was about to split wide open, I felt like, and I knew I had been poisoned some sort of way. I crawled over to the sofa, where my (ex) husband was sleeping, and as soon as I was able to rouse him, he grabbed his head too and said "OMG, my head is KILLING ME." Anyway, that's the shorter version of the story, but it did go on from there, and eventually we ended up in the hospital and in a hyperbaric chamber for days and days.

So sorry, but I do really believe that was my guardian angel urging me to wake up. There is no other explanation for it that I can think of. I told my team of doctors and they agreed with me but who knows. Anyway, there was one other time I felt his or her presence, and that was a few weeks after my husband died, I had also fallen and absolutely shattered my right (dominant) elbow. So I was pretty down. My granddaughter was sleeping next to me because I needed help (I had just gotten home from surgery and five days in the hospital - apparently it was a big, big deal and I now have a new titanium elbow that I have to declare every time I am in an airport!). Anyway, so I woke up really early after having a great dream about my late husband, and I felt this beautiful being come around me and hug me. It was so real that I woke up my granddaughter and said "Did you come around to my side of the bed and hug me?" even though I knew she would tell me that she hadn't. I felt these huge wings envelope me. I believe to this day that was my guardian angel again. So I'd say I felt him or her twice in my lifetime. I've kept him/her pretty busy!

Oh one other time. I was changing my baby's diaper and looking out of the window at the beautiful morning, but I had had an awful night because I kept thinking I had committed an unpardonable sin, which was ridiculous. Anyway, it was tormenting me, needlessly, and suddenly a peace totally enveloped me and a voice said, clear as a bell, "God knows your heart." And I have never worried since.

I tend to believe that someone can be 'closed-minded' about subjects like 'spirits'. That may be why I've never had an experience similar to your experiences.....I'm putting 'commune with one spirit' on my bucket list.

 

[George-ananda]

There are those that claim they can see and talk to spirits but could they be just hallucinations?

Could be, but I don't think so. Over my decades of interest, I've seen and heard too much to explain it away including consistency and information not reasonably known through normal channels.