Are you open to supernatural/unusual experiences?

[Kodos]

I'm in a bit of a reflective mood today. I've been thinking about paranormal experiences (UFOs, bigfoot (ping Quik)), and other unusual but not supernatural experiences like seeing tornadoes. I've never experienced anything out of the ordinary, whereas some people seem to have these experiences repeatedly.

Do you think your outlook on life can affect what you experience? For example, I've always wanted to see a ghost or a UFO or a tornado, but I've never experienced any of those. Any time I've played around with a Ouija board (one or two times), nothing has happened, but when my buddies in college did it one night without me, they got to talk to some girl who had drowned in a local pond. It annoys me, because I'm interested in these sorts of things, but it seems like my skeptical nature might be precluding me from experiencing them.

Anyhow, not sure where I'm going with this, but I guess I'd like to see more stories from people who have had unusual experiences. They always fascinate me. (Near-death experiences are particularly interesting.)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Generally speaking I don't know that I think your outlook itself -- like, your "vibe" -- has a lot of influence on your experiences/lack thereof. I think behaviors based on that outlook, how/if someone approaches things could easily have an impact.

Idle thought: given my druthers, I'd take 100 ghosts over even a single UFO. The latter scares me far more, and not in a good way.

edit to add: highlighting the fact that my reply was general, not specific to you. You seem open enough, may not be prone to closing off opportunities/situations, but a lot of people likely do.

[Solecismic]

One definition for supernatural is a force beyond the limits of current scientific understanding. The other is a force beyond the laws of nature.

I want to learn more about the universe. There's probably more we don't understand than what we do understand. I embrace the former definition.

The latter - that there are magic manifestations beyond the laws of nature that fit neatly into easily-understood cubicles - bothers me. The question I'd ask those who insist on "ghosts" or spaghetti monsters or whatever is whether they are open to the continual expansion of scientific understanding.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Solecismic

The question I'd ask those who insist on "ghosts" or spaghetti monsters or whatever is whether they are open to the continual expansion of scientific understanding.

Open to it? Sure, have at it.
Believe it has an answer for (literally) everything? Nope.

But I have no real grief for 'em if they want to try to see what they can turn up.

[Eaglesfan27]

My cousin died tragically young last year at the age of 38. That morning before I even knew it had happened, a bird flew repeatedly into my window over and over again. I tried putting tape in the window, closing the curtains, etc. Nothing helped. The bird flew into the window hard over and over again for a few hours. In my 5 years of living in this house, no other bird has ever hit any of my windows even once.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I'm in a bit of a reflective mood today. I've been thinking about paranormal experiences (UFOs, bigfoot (ping Quik)), and other unusual but not supernatural experiences like seeing tornadoes. I've never experienced anything out of the ordinary, whereas some people seem to have these experiences repeatedly.

Do you think your outlook on life can affect what you experience? For example, I've always wanted to see a ghost or a UFO or a tornado, but I've never experienced any of those. Any time I've played around with a Ouija board (one or two times), nothing has happened, but when my buddies in college did it one night without me, they got to talk to some girl who had drowned in a local pond. It annoys me, because I'm interested in these sorts of things, but it seems like my skeptical nature might be precluding me from experiencing them.

Anyhow, not sure where I'm going with this, but I guess I'd like to see more stories from people who have had unusual experiences. They always fascinate me. (Near-death experiences are particularly interesting.)

I am close to a couple people who have some special gifts, but I personally don't have anything like they do. I think you do have to have a certain mindset to experience certain things, but just having it isn't really enough.

Me and one of them were in the car, I was driving. Suddenly this person inhaled, like they had been kicked. I asked what was wrong and they proceeded to say "they had been smacked in the face with the Beverly Hills Supper Club." They said that they hadn't had their defenses up and didn't even know where the site of the tragedy was. I had only learned about it a couple weeks earlier when I was driving past it, but otherwise had no idea.

Beverly Hills Supper Club fire - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in Southgate, Kentucky, is the third deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history. It occurred on the night of May 28, 1977, during the Memorial Day holiday weekend. A total of 165 people died and more than 200 were injured as a result of the blaze. It was the deadliest fire in the United States since 1944, when 168 people were killed in the Hartford circus fire in Hartford, Connecticut.^[1]

I asked what it was like and they said it was the sound of the screaming. This person felt a pulling at them and they could feel the intensity of the event. Places where intense events like that took place leave an imprint on the location that can last forever.

This is just one example.

[EagleFan]

Somewhat of a realist where this is involved, or that is what I consider myself at least.

Aliens; the universe is far too big to assume that we are the only intelligent life out there; also rather arrogant to think that.

Ghosts, sort of agnostic here. Too many cons out there and the plethora of doctored up TV shows don't help make one want to believe.

Bigfoot; doesn't exist.

[Kodos]

But what about Nessie?!

[Suicane75]

I'm generally more skeptical of people claiming things than I am of the possibility said things exist. I've seen A UFO, I believe there are other civilizations. On the other hand I don't care one way or another about their existence as it stands now. Let's have some two way contact before I start getting excited or worried.

[dunkem]

Kinda blows my sense of reality when I watch show like Tyler Henry on the E network. He looks like the kid from Home Alone and seems to be such an innocent kid who does readings for the stars. Compared to shows like the Long Island Medium, he seems more genuine and it seems like he's actually connecting to energies.

It makes me think of those who have passed for me. It creeps me out to think that your passed love ones are floating around out there looking at WHATEVER you're doing. I have a lot of regrets in how I've dealt with some of my decisions so in some ways, knowing they're "okay" is comforting, but on the other hand freaky in how they'd exist in another "realm".

The bird example that was given.. how would a cousin be able to control a living animal? If your cousin could using supernatural abilities, what else could it "control"?

Yep, if it can't be explained through science, reality as I know is kind of shot.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by dunkem

Kinda blows my sense of reality when I watch show like Tyler Henry on the E network. He looks like the kid from Home Alone and seems to be such an innocent kid who does readings for the stars. Compared to shows like the Long Island Medium, he seems more genuine and it seems like he's actually connecting to energies.

It makes me think of those who have passed for me. It creeps me out to think that your passed love ones are floating around out there looking at WHATEVER you're doing. I have a lot of regrets in how I've dealt with some of my decisions so in some ways, knowing they're "okay" is comforting, but on the other hand freaky in how they'd exist in another "realm".

The bird example that was given.. how would a cousin be able to control a living animal? If your cousin could using supernatural abilities, what else could it "control"?

Yep, if it can't be explained through science, reality as I know is kind of shot.

How about when you learn (after he's gone) that your grandpa is a pervert? I mean, it's not all happy thoughts and warm fuzzies.

[Vince, Pt. II]

As much as I love my fantasy/science fiction genres, I've never really been one for buying in to the supernatural as a real thing that exists. That being said, I have had one experience that to this day feels...odd.

About four years ago (age 30-ish), I was asleep in Tucson, Arizona, while on vacation with a girlfriend. My phone was across the room, set to silent (not vibrate), and was face down on the dresser. I am a notoriously heavy sleeper - I've literally slept through a bulldozer driving through a wall of the room I was sleeping in - and my sleep schedule at this time had me waking up around 9 AM every day. When I wake up, I am extremely groggy and take a few minutes to snap out of it.

At 5:03 AM, I woke up for no obvious reason. I was instantly wide awake, and immediately went straight across the room to my cell phone, which I picked up. The phone was ringing. I answered the phone in time, and my mother told me that my grandfather had just passed away suddenly back home in California.

I have absolutely no idea what to make of it - even these days, when I wake up at 3:45 AM for work I'm groggy as hell when I do wake up, and I need to set multiple alarms to make sure I don't turn them off before being fully awake. I loved my grandfather dearly, but he had been dealing with Alzheimer's for a few years, and we were no longer very close. He was living in an assisted living home which specialized in Alzheimer's Patients.

[Groundhog]

I don't believe in the supernatural in the slightest, but I'm open to anything at the same time. If I saw something to change my mind, great, but (as I am with most things) I approach extraordinary claims with skepticism by nature.

I don't think science does or ever will explain everything, because I don't think it's possible. Science, to me, is humanities attempt to understand the universe as it appears to ourselves, which is not necessarily the same things as how it is. It's completely invaluable to us as a species, but if we vanished tomorrow and on one was around to calculate the universe would keep on keepin' on, in complete indifference.

It sounds stupid, but I read a ton of science books by the usual crowd (Dawkins/Sagan/Hawking) as well as science fiction when I was younger, and yet nothing blew my mind quite like the ending to the first Men In Black movie. I think more than anything else it shaped my view of the universe.

[frnk55]

Originally Posted by Kodos

But what about Nessie?!

Nessie on the Net! and Nessie's Official Ultimate Loch Ness Live Cams - the Highlands, Scotland. Lock Ness
I'm going to sit here all day if I have to!

[TCY Junkie]

I had this crazy dream once. My grandpa had been dead a few years. The rest of the family was together at my grandparents house. We were all there having fun talking to each other. Even family members I've only seen a few times were there. Saw a guy with a hood on bent over, just assumed it was a friend of the family. The guy asks where my brother was? I couldn't see the guys face where I was positioned so I moved, it was my grandpa. I looked around for my brother and he wasn't in the house. Looked outside and he was being tied to a fence by 4 dark spirits or figures. I ran out there and they left......... at this time I woke up. My heart was racing. I have never had a dream like that at all. This was probably around 3 am. Anyway, my brother called my parents about 8 hours later saying he had been in a wreck. He got tired of driving so he let someone else drive his ford 250 and laid down in back to sleep. They hit some standing water and wrecked. The vehicle flipped and his was thrown around. A tire tool hit him in the leg, bruised the hell out of it. Very very lucky he wasn't hurt worse.

The was my dad's dad in the dream. Also that day, my mom's mom asked how my brother was. My mom and I were at her mom's house. My grandmother has alzheimer's disease and had not mention him in a year or so. Hadn't seen him in a few years. After she asked, about a hour later my brother called saying he had been in a wreck.

[CrimsonFox]

I loved listening to Coast to Coast AM especially the really good eps that you can still find on youtube and such.

It's like listening to ghost stories...and I let myself believe them because...why not...it's really fun to believe. It makes me happy to think that there might be something actually cool in the world.

[Senator]

I'm not open to it, which makes me a movie waiting to happen.

[dunkem]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

How about when you learn (after he's gone) that your grandpa is a pervert? I mean, it's not all happy thoughts and warm fuzzies.

It's true... it's not all warm and fuzzies .. and that's what would freak me out even more if I accepted the existence of an afterworld. You'd hope your good ghosts would help protect you from the bad ones, but if you had a real crappy life and had nobody to protect you in the physical realm, what would make you think there would be anyone in the other realm.

I've also had some of those lingering sleepless nights when I'd almost feel like I'm being warned about something. Later I find out a relative passed away.

I've heard different views on afterlife when someone experiences something like alzheimers or mental illness. For the most part, it seems like they're saying that illness no longer affects them, but they're aware they had issues. ... which makes me confused as to what state someone is in over there.

It's even mind bending to think that if supernatural occurances exist, why are they restricted to just our planet? Could they conceivably go to another planet? "Heaven" is only in earth skies not universe skies? You could even take it ALLLL the way back to the creation of the universe. Our god created the entire universe or just our planet... or our adam and eve?

Meh.... this thread screws with your mind. I feel like JJ abrams should chime in with his alternate timeline, parallel world stuff (ala Fringe)

[Suicane75]

PENNY? IS THAT YOU?

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Aliens; the universe is far too big to assume that we are the only intelligent life out there; also rather arrogant to think that.

I agree. I also think it is arrogant to think that this backwater burg is some kind of nexus for alien activity. It is incredible that in the scope of the universe, they would keep coming here.

[JAG]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Aliens; the universe is far too big to assume that we are the only intelligent life out there; also rather arrogant to think that.

Fermi paradox my man:

The Fermi Paradox - Wait But Why


I've had some unexplained things happen, mostly connections with people I love that seem improbable, but I think it's something we'll be able to explain someday in the future rather than something like magic.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by JAG

I've had some unexplained things happen, mostly connections with people I love that seem improbable, but I think it's something we'll be able to explain someday in the future rather than something like magic.

It's not magic. I don't know how to explain it, but like you, I think one day we are going to unlock some amazing scientific discoveries.

[revrew]

I'm a believer in God, so naturally, I believe in the supernatural. As a former pastor, I've dealt with supernatural practices and occurrences, like prayer, inexplicable healings, and even hexes and exorcisms. I believe I have had direct contact both with God and with demons, both of which scared the bejeebers out of me at the time.

In my worldview, yes, there are things which exist not just outside of science's understanding, but also which operate outside the laws of the physical universe. But in my worldview, there are also laws which govern the supernatural world. For example, I don't believe ghosts that manifest in our physical world are actually the spirits of dead people, but demons that are masquerading as people we know to catch us offguard. So to me, ghosts are scary as hell. Same with seances, Ouija boards, and such.

Aliens? Eh. Who knows? I doubt there exists intelligent life elsewhere, because I believe Earth actually is a unique place created by God for a unique relationship with humanity. But if there were aliens, it wouldn't exactly rock my world. It would just be further proof I don't know everything.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

I loved listening to Coast to Coast AM especially the really good eps that you can still find on youtube and such.

It's like listening to ghost stories...and I let myself believe them because...why not...it's really fun to believe. It makes me happy to think that there might be something actually cool in the world.

My friend Dave Schrader hosts Darkness Radio on a nightly basis and guest hosts Coast to Coast AM on a regular basis. It's still a great show. I think the discussion on both those shows is far better than they were a decade ago.

[Kodos]

Old news, but Sammy Hagar has encountered aliens. And had a run-in with his ghost dad.

Sammy Hagar: I was abducted by aliens – The Marquee Blog - CNN.com Blogs

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Got a bit freaked out the other night. My wife had just had surgery and my kids were sick, so I couldn't go out to set up for the next day's events until around 12:30 AM. I was setting up chairs in the ballroom. Around 1:00 AM, I heard the men's bathroom door open and close (doors in the building each have their own unique sounds, so it was easy to know which one it was). That bathroom has a door retractor on it, so while it will close on its own, it can't open on its own.

My security guard is usually out there between 10:00 PM-3:00 AM but he's usually outside watching for intruders. I sent him a text asking if he was in the building. He replied that he was actually at home grabbing some food and was on his way back. Building was locked down and I was the only one there. Got really bad goosebumps on my arms along with the chills.

[PilotMan]

You know, it's really odd to have a conversation after your wife tells you, after you went for a fall drive along the Ohio today, that she saw a house with a black slave who was hung in a tree in front and a house where a man killed his entire family AND then she says that those aren't completely unusual experiences for her. Just stuff she always has to live with.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

You know, it's really odd to have a conversation after your wife tells you, after you went for a fall drive along the Ohio today, that she saw a house with a black slave who was hung in a tree in front and a house where a man killed his entire family AND then she says that those aren't completely unusual experiences for her. Just stuff she always has to live with.

My cousin's wife told me her daughter (my niece) sees dead people. When she said that it was in the context of a spiritual discussion and I was kinda disbelieving. So what you just posted is very interesting to me.

So tell me more about your wife's gift?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Edward64

So tell me more about your wife's gift?

She doesn't advertise, she doesn't talk about it much, but she constantly has experiences. Her gifts are such that she has learned how to protect herself and her family first and foremost. She is like an amplifier for gifts around her, and she can both communicate and see others. She mostly chooses to ignore and hide. I have been with her occasionally when she has chosen to communicate and her insights have been both on point and deep.



She was read as a child and the woman who read her was spot on in telling her who she would marry and how her ring and family would look. It's hard to ignore that type of gift. In some ways though, it's a double edged sword, because that kind of knowledge can be more than you can handle.



Of our kids, our middle and youngest son both have some gifts, but they both have chosen to either walk away from, or not develop them. My gifts are empathic in nature, and allow for a deep emotional understanding. Not super developed either though.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

She doesn't advertise, she doesn't talk about it much, but she constantly has experiences. Her gifts are such that she has learned how to protect herself and her family first and foremost. She is like an amplifier for gifts around her, and she can both communicate and see others. She mostly chooses to ignore and hide. I have been with her occasionally when she has chosen to communicate and her insights have been both on point and deep.

Wow. How does she communicate with them and what do they talk about?

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Edward64

Wow. How does she communicate with them and what do they talk about?

Like I said, 99% of the time she chooses to ignore them, and stay hidden. From time to time she will engage. She 'cleans' the house fairly regularly and says that I bring stuff home from my trips quite often, and we have had entities that have been tied to furniture that we've had from yard sales or antique shows.



As for how, she listens and will answer out loud. She will verbalize restrictions, and she maintains a very tight ship. She doesn't like to come into contact with others who actively practice as it can have a long lasting effect on her, and they can try and use her to amplify themselves. She also doesn't like being caught off guard by others, or by places where there's a lot of action.



In the greater conversation, the vast majority of people who have had gifts that I have known do not talk about them, and do not advertise them. They merely live with them.

[NobodyHere]

I tend to think that half the posters here are actually dead people who can only communicate to the living through FOFC.

[Mota]

My grandmother died a few years ago, and when we were cleaning out her apartment, music suddenly started coming out of her bedroom. We walked in, and her clock radio was playing, even though it had been unplugged and was lying on her bed, about to be packed up. I opened up the battery compartment, and there weren't any batteries in it at all.

[Izulde]

In a word, yes.

Those of you who are FB friends with me are familiar with my dream visits from people who have passed on (and I have a pretty good idea of some of what the afterlife is like based on those experiences. It's neither clouds/harps nor fire/brimstone).

I can also detect energies of places around me - it tends to be strongest at consecrated holy sites, but also in dangerous areas/off dangerous people (avoided some scrapes that way).

There's some other experiences, but those tend to be the most common types.

[ISiddiqui]

As a believer in God, of course I believe in the supernatural. My conversion experience has part of it a feeling of the presence of God (specifically a chill on my upper back/neck corresponding to a feeling of warmth/joy in my chest). Though I don't really believe in ghosts in the white sheet sort of way. Aliens, I'm open to them.

[molson]

I don't think humans in 2019 have close to everything about the universe figured out, and that it would be incredibly arrogant to think otherwise. So of course there exists the possibility of things completely beyond our current ability to understand.

[Arles]

I try to be open to all things - supernatural and "normal". If pressed, I'd say that we, as humans, have a pretty untapped mental intuition that can sometimes appear like supernatural events. I think that some people can tap into that more easily than others and that's where some of this comes from.

I've had numerous experiences where I acted in a certain way that seems random on the surface - but ended up really helping me (or others). Two days before my wedding, I was driving with my wife's dad and uncle. It was early in the morning and we were leaving the hotel where people were staying to play a round of golf. I got to the light and it turned green. I sat there for a good 5-10 seconds and a car came sprinting around the corner to run the red light. Had I pull out at my normal speed, we would have been T-boned. But, for some reason, I waited. Now, some might think it was some higher power holding me - but it could also have been my subconscious sensing the car and preventing me from going. Still, I'm not against the idea of the supernatural - I just don't think we fully understand our capabilities as well.

[Dodgerchick]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

You know, it's really odd to have a conversation after your wife tells you, after you went for a fall drive along the Ohio today, that she saw a house with a black slave who was hung in a tree in front and a house where a man killed his entire family AND then she says that those aren't completely unusual experiences for her. Just stuff she always has to live with.

Originally Posted by Izulde

In a word, yes.

Those of you who are FB friends with me are familiar with my dream visits from people who have passed on (and I have a pretty good idea of some of what the afterlife is like based on those experiences. It's neither clouds/harps nor fire/brimstone).

I can also detect energies of places around me - it tends to be strongest at consecrated holy sites, but also in dangerous areas/off dangerous people (avoided some scrapes that way).

There's some other experiences, but those tend to be the most common types.

I'm so jealous of your dreams. I wish my loved ones would visit me like that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did have somewhat of an encounter with a deceased loved one during my meditation retreat. My best friend Jennifer died several years ago. I never had closure on her death. During a meditation session I smelled rain and it reminded me of her. Then all of a sudden, I saw her. I asked her why she never visited me and that I missed her terribly. She laughed and said, "Lorena... omg, you're so silly. I've been there. I'm always there. I've been with you the ENTIRE TIME!"... and she laughed again. Then she was gone. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever experienced. I finally had closure.

I don't know if this qualifies under this thread, but I consider myself en Empath. I feel things so hard, it hurts. My best friend's dad died several years ago. When she talks about him, she doesn't cry. But I do. I can feel how much she misses him. Her heartbreak and sadness. I cry for her. But once we depart, I'm fine. My supervisor talked about a severe car accident she was in. She talked about how she was a new mom but never wanted kids. I felt her confusion, hurt, gratitude, happiness at getting a second chance. There are no emotions on her side, but I feel it.

Sometimes my eyes well up with tears when I hear people talk about something deeply personal. I seriously need to learn to protect myself like your wife, PM. It's a blessing and a curse.

[Schmidty]

Yes. Life is a mystery.

[Edward64]

Originally Posted by Izulde

... (and I have a pretty good idea of some of what the afterlife is like based on those experiences. It's neither clouds/harps nor fire/brimstone).

Uh, you can't leave us hanging on this. Care to share?

[NobodyHere]

I'm pretty much a hard skeptic

[Sun Tzu]

I am a strong believer in the supernatural. That term has different meanings for each person -- my experience around this is largely based on the responsible (and FDA approved) therapeutic use of psychedelics.

Psilocybin and MDMA in particular have been life changing. Again, these chemicals are impossible to overdose on, and have been approved to help treat PTSD, Depression, and Anxiety.

A single dose of psilocybin (2-3 dried grams) can change your life forever, and for the better.

Left, the stable brain activity in a normal brain. Right, under the influence of psilocybin, diverse brain regions not normally in communication become strongly linked.

[NobodyHere]

Those are some colorful graphs, but what do they mean?