"Life is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing," William Shakespeare, Macbeth. Not a very encouraging outlook on our existence in general, but then again, it's just one man's opinion. So goes it with the afterlife and the paranormal.Last night I watched 48 Hours and the program topic focused on the afterlife. It was interesting to hear all the varying opinions such as the professional medical disputes on whether the first hand experiences of those who have crossed over were legitimate or not. Who has the authority to say whether or not a personal experience is legitimate? Certainly we rely on science and institutions of higher learning to help us understand medical conditions as they relate to the physical, but can anyone say with certainty and without bias that the spiritual aspects do not exist because they can not be scientifically proven?
Recently, as many are aware, I was hospitalized for my heart and had to be shocked back into a normal sinus rhythm. Elvis was not directing me towards the light and no family members were there to greet me. All I know is that I scored a collective 9.5 from the assisting nurses based on my dismount when the current hit me. I awoke to cold feet and a mild disappointment that I didn't have the ultimate peek behind the curtain. One friend suggested that perhaps I was looking the wrong way; my religious friends would conquer on that.
When my grandfather died and came back he reported a beautiful place likened to the Wicca Summerland, and he emphasized that denominations and all that big hairy bullshit didn't matter. He told the beings who welcomed him that he didn't want to return, but they insisted. I'm glad in a selfish way they did because he was able to welcome Rosie into the family with a blessing. Should I discount his experience as an old man on the verge of dementia? Or should I take his word that he was there and we should have no fear of death?
Considering these ponderings, let's muddy the waters by asking where ghosts come into play in the grand scheme of the cosmos. The opinions on this subject are as wild and varying as any religious or political debate would encompass. Is it only suggestive thought waves associating light and sound anomalies with what the mind can comprehend? Is it our own energies causing the occurrences? Or is there a greater purpose why Aunt Martha slams the bathroom door? Who can say for the dark waters of possibilities have remained uncharted territories that very few have had the courage to navigate?
The energy theory is interesting to me, especially as it relates to a story my momma told me. She was canning tomatoes and her Grandma Ballenger told her not to can if it was her time of the month. She laughed and inquired as to why that would make a difference. Great grandma simply said that the jars would explode. Chalking it up to an old wives tale she continued to can the tomatoes. It was her time of the month and every single jar blew its lid off within a day. If this is possible then perhaps objects that move or fly from a shelf are birthed from our own tumultuous energies? Questions begat questions.
There has always been a gifting within my family that is referred to as "the sight." This was kept quiet because in the hollers where they resided many believed "seeing" to be the workings of the devil, even though the accuser's scriptures were full of people who prophesied through dreams and visions. Stiff necked, closed minded people were to be feared because of the shunning that would take place had they been ousted.That same damning attitude can be found alive and well within certain denominations of Puritan influence as their members find it necessary to condemn anything they do not understand. Hinduism, Buddhism, Native American beliefs and so forth have all incorporated an acceptance of ghosts or spirits within their belief systems. Not so with contemporary Christian thought even though the Christian bible refers to ghosts a couple of times in the New Testament. Jesus was thought to be a ghost when his disciples saw him walking on water on the Sea of Galilee or after the resurrection he asked for a piece of fish to eat so those present wouldn't view him as a ghost. The most glaring story of the beyond comes from the Old Testament when the Witch of Endor called forth the deceased Prophet Samuel for King Saul. Still, some who are of the mindset that has become prominent within the last 50 years, are still speaking against that which they do not know and naming any activity from the beyond as the work of demons.
This became painfully obvious while I was hospitalized when a nurse, who found out I was a member of a paranormal research group, proclaimed quite boldly that she was a "born again" Christian. She never bothered to ask whether I was a believer or not, she just assumed that if I was into the paranormal that I must be a sinner that needs the hope of salvation. She would have had a shitpanic if she knew I was a licensed and ordained minister within the State of Ohio. She also would have been a patient on the same cardiac ward she served if I told her I became ordained through an ad in the back of a Rolling Stone magazine and then sent $10 with my new ordination to the State of Ohio who then issued me a license. Stranger things have happened. My ambition was to start a cult with 3000 people giving me 10% of their income, but the whole Heaven's Gate thing put a damper on that. I digress. I allowed her to speak on her faith while complimenting her for her scriptural knowledge all the while playing dumb regarding anything to do with Christianity. Why confuse them with the facts when they've already made up their mind about you?
Throughout my stay at the hospital people came in and out of my room to tell me their brush with the paranormal. In general, the stories were all very similar, but can it be proven scientifically? Paranormal research awareness has grown by leaps and bounds since Ghost Hunters aired on Sci-Fi. I'm jazzed that more people are asking questions and comparing notes. So many times people would get cold feet and not speak in great detail of a paranormal happening for fear of being ridiculed or made fun of. My father was one of those people.After years of activity in our homes that we all experienced, he remained a skeptic. He even witnessed women in civil war period clothing in the foyer of a home he lived in as a child in downtown Cincinnati. This was revealed after I told how something heavy sat on my bed one night while I was alone in my apartment. I asked why he never said anything about his experience to us after all these years and he just shrugged. He now is a born again believer of the paranormal after a laying on of hands occurrence while he was alone at work. Now, late at night, you can find him openly watching UFO and paranormal programs. Nothing like a zealous convert.
Can we legitimately prove that ghost exists? I think of a talk I heard by an apologist named Josh McDowell when people asked him to scientifically prove that Jesus existed. He stated that scientific conclusions are determinations made by studying the results of preceding work within specific structured methodology. You can not scientifically prove that you showed up for work this morning but you can verify you were there by eye witnessed accounts. This is called historical evidence not a scientific conclusion. That was the same logic he used to answer the topic of Christ's existence on earth. Did it happen? Depends on who you ask and what they believe. Scientific results are not subjective if they are to have credibility. We can not expect the paranormal to yield specific results through controlled methodology. When we call out and capture an EVP in 1 out of 100 tries, it just means that something happened that one time. Why it happened is anyone's guess. It is as unpredictable as the wind. But what we can rely on is eye witnessed accounts, personal experiences, and recorded evidence that has no known explanation other than paranormal.
It all boils down to faith in something whether it's you're own understanding or the endless possibilities of those dark uncharted waters. I'm up for a boat ride, anyone else?
Recently, as many are aware, I was hospitalized for my heart and had to be shocked back into a normal sinus rhythm. Elvis was not directing me towards the light and no family members were there to greet me. All I know is that I scored a collective 9.5 from the assisting nurses based on my dismount when the current hit me. I awoke to cold feet and a mild disappointment that I didn't have the ultimate peek behind the curtain. One friend suggested that perhaps I was looking the wrong way; my religious friends would conquer on that.
When my grandfather died and came back he reported a beautiful place likened to the Wicca Summerland, and he emphasized that denominations and all that big hairy bullshit didn't matter. He told the beings who welcomed him that he didn't want to return, but they insisted. I'm glad in a selfish way they did because he was able to welcome Rosie into the family with a blessing. Should I discount his experience as an old man on the verge of dementia? Or should I take his word that he was there and we should have no fear of death?
Considering these ponderings, let's muddy the waters by asking where ghosts come into play in the grand scheme of the cosmos. The opinions on this subject are as wild and varying as any religious or political debate would encompass. Is it only suggestive thought waves associating light and sound anomalies with what the mind can comprehend? Is it our own energies causing the occurrences? Or is there a greater purpose why Aunt Martha slams the bathroom door? Who can say for the dark waters of possibilities have remained uncharted territories that very few have had the courage to navigate?
The energy theory is interesting to me, especially as it relates to a story my momma told me. She was canning tomatoes and her Grandma Ballenger told her not to can if it was her time of the month. She laughed and inquired as to why that would make a difference. Great grandma simply said that the jars would explode. Chalking it up to an old wives tale she continued to can the tomatoes. It was her time of the month and every single jar blew its lid off within a day. If this is possible then perhaps objects that move or fly from a shelf are birthed from our own tumultuous energies? Questions begat questions.
There has always been a gifting within my family that is referred to as "the sight." This was kept quiet because in the hollers where they resided many believed "seeing" to be the workings of the devil, even though the accuser's scriptures were full of people who prophesied through dreams and visions. Stiff necked, closed minded people were to be feared because of the shunning that would take place had they been ousted.That same damning attitude can be found alive and well within certain denominations of Puritan influence as their members find it necessary to condemn anything they do not understand. Hinduism, Buddhism, Native American beliefs and so forth have all incorporated an acceptance of ghosts or spirits within their belief systems. Not so with contemporary Christian thought even though the Christian bible refers to ghosts a couple of times in the New Testament. Jesus was thought to be a ghost when his disciples saw him walking on water on the Sea of Galilee or after the resurrection he asked for a piece of fish to eat so those present wouldn't view him as a ghost. The most glaring story of the beyond comes from the Old Testament when the Witch of Endor called forth the deceased Prophet Samuel for King Saul. Still, some who are of the mindset that has become prominent within the last 50 years, are still speaking against that which they do not know and naming any activity from the beyond as the work of demons.
This became painfully obvious while I was hospitalized when a nurse, who found out I was a member of a paranormal research group, proclaimed quite boldly that she was a "born again" Christian. She never bothered to ask whether I was a believer or not, she just assumed that if I was into the paranormal that I must be a sinner that needs the hope of salvation. She would have had a shitpanic if she knew I was a licensed and ordained minister within the State of Ohio. She also would have been a patient on the same cardiac ward she served if I told her I became ordained through an ad in the back of a Rolling Stone magazine and then sent $10 with my new ordination to the State of Ohio who then issued me a license. Stranger things have happened. My ambition was to start a cult with 3000 people giving me 10% of their income, but the whole Heaven's Gate thing put a damper on that. I digress. I allowed her to speak on her faith while complimenting her for her scriptural knowledge all the while playing dumb regarding anything to do with Christianity. Why confuse them with the facts when they've already made up their mind about you?
Throughout my stay at the hospital people came in and out of my room to tell me their brush with the paranormal. In general, the stories were all very similar, but can it be proven scientifically? Paranormal research awareness has grown by leaps and bounds since Ghost Hunters aired on Sci-Fi. I'm jazzed that more people are asking questions and comparing notes. So many times people would get cold feet and not speak in great detail of a paranormal happening for fear of being ridiculed or made fun of. My father was one of those people.After years of activity in our homes that we all experienced, he remained a skeptic. He even witnessed women in civil war period clothing in the foyer of a home he lived in as a child in downtown Cincinnati. This was revealed after I told how something heavy sat on my bed one night while I was alone in my apartment. I asked why he never said anything about his experience to us after all these years and he just shrugged. He now is a born again believer of the paranormal after a laying on of hands occurrence while he was alone at work. Now, late at night, you can find him openly watching UFO and paranormal programs. Nothing like a zealous convert.
Can we legitimately prove that ghost exists? I think of a talk I heard by an apologist named Josh McDowell when people asked him to scientifically prove that Jesus existed. He stated that scientific conclusions are determinations made by studying the results of preceding work within specific structured methodology. You can not scientifically prove that you showed up for work this morning but you can verify you were there by eye witnessed accounts. This is called historical evidence not a scientific conclusion. That was the same logic he used to answer the topic of Christ's existence on earth. Did it happen? Depends on who you ask and what they believe. Scientific results are not subjective if they are to have credibility. We can not expect the paranormal to yield specific results through controlled methodology. When we call out and capture an EVP in 1 out of 100 tries, it just means that something happened that one time. Why it happened is anyone's guess. It is as unpredictable as the wind. But what we can rely on is eye witnessed accounts, personal experiences, and recorded evidence that has no known explanation other than paranormal.
It all boils down to faith in something whether it's you're own understanding or the endless possibilities of those dark uncharted waters. I'm up for a boat ride, anyone else?
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