Do you guys believe in ghosts?

[TeamHT]

No, I really don't. Growing up I always did the bloody Mary's and the candy man with no fear and no consequences. I've always pushed the envelope when dealing with the alleged supernatural with no results. I think humans fear the unknown and it's in our blood. Coupled with the facts our brains operate by establishing patterns our brains fill in the void for what we don't know, ergo fear which manifests themselves as ghosts, spirits, supernatural entities. I've stayed a night in a supposed cursed cemetery, and sadly that's about as far as my exploits have gotten. I'm not one to openly instigate, but it's hard not to when you don't believe.

[TeamHT]

That is very interesting. How about a test of another where theres a handicapped person? Lets say someone who is blind and lead him or her to a active site where theres nothing but hauntings. Give him no prior knowledge of the area and see what his reactions are, the participant is blind therefore he can not see anything going around and if there is no prior knowlege he wont know where he is, Therefore eliminating the "subconscious mind" part, He was only told he was going somewhere quiet where he or she could think. If the blind person gets touched or gets scratched or something, hears a voice, or if he sees a vision then thats would disprove Mr Randis challange. It would ultimately conclude that paranormal activity exists. Get someone whos pure of all sight to go into an area that has activity but is told nothing of it and then says something about it, now that would be scientific.

You can't eliminate the influence of the subconscious mind because all humans have a subconscious, regardless of the function of their senses. Although it would be quite remarkable for a blind person to be physically injured by something that isn't there. As far as hearing things or seeing visions is concerned, again we have the influence of the subconscious and to be sure, when we don't know what's around us, our amygdala goes into overdrive. It is the part of the brain that handles our fight or flight response and once it is invoked without a known reason, we can see or hear virtually anything that's not there. Or, we can hear a wind blow and think it is a ghost walking past us. We could hear a deadfall limb break out of a tree outside and swear it was a knock on the wall two feet from us.

The science behind how the human mind works is, to me at least, vastly more mysterious and awe inspiring than the most clever of ghost stories. :-)

Either you didn't read the post very well or you just don't understand...

No one is disregarding the subconscious. What I'm reading is he is suggesting a way to offer a controlled variable where test subject's subconscious isn't under the influence to actually test whether or not the manifestation is part of the subconscious or not.

[big dee]

Yes the human mind is a very powerful thing.

[bbeljefe]

I would have to respectfully disagree. I"ve started experiencing stuff way before I ever got into the paranormal or even knew what it was for that matter. How can my mind come up with something that I didn't know about? Doesn't make sense to me. All I have to say is just cause you haven't seen or experienced something doesn't mean it's not real.

The same way humans conjured up the notion of deities. And virtually any other invention that didn't exist before it was invented.

There was a time in the history of humanity when none of the things we take advantage of in our daily lives had ever been thought of.... and then one by one, they were thought of by people who had never heard of or seen them before.

And you're right, not seeing something doesn't make it real. Nor does seeing it.

[bbeljefe]

Either you didn't read the post very well or you just don't understand...

No one is disregarding the subconscious. What I'm reading is he is suggesting a way to offer a controlled variable where test subject's subconscious isn't under the influence to actually test whether or not the manifestation is part of the subconscious or not.

I read it and understood it quite well. His control is not a control because you cannot remove the subconscious mind from a living human being.

Trust me... I've tried it with any number of illicit substances throughout my life and it can't be done. :-P

[Rockford96]

The house I live in now is haunted. I just got married a few months ago an I had told my wife this when she moved in . But she didn't believe lol. Now she does tho. Couple things happen to her around the house unpacking that changed her thoughts lol. My house makes noises that sound like doors opening and closing and faint voices behind your back like another persons not far away talking. Most of the things kinda are mostly in the kitchen an master bedroom. But it follows where ever you go in the house. My house is big an spread out . Living here alone for the last year was tough . The kids have even took notice to the things going on . But we don't say it's ghost around them. We just make excuses to keep then from being afraid . But the more that happens the harder that gets. I grew up in a old boarding style home from the 1800s so I'm I guess use to these things but my family is having a time dealing with it . My wife wants to have our house blessed by a priest to see if it helps. I have doubts that's going to work. IMO it could make it worse an now I think it's no big deal an no need in aggravating anything if you know what I mean.

we had weird things happening in our old house and my dad had it blessed and things got worse we moved quick

[hershy314]

I would have to respectfully disagree. I"ve started experiencing stuff way before I ever got into the paranormal or even knew what it was for that matter. How can my mind come up with something that I didn't know about? Doesn't make sense to me. All I have to say is just cause you haven't seen or experienced something doesn't mean it's not real.

The same way humans conjured up the notion of deities. And virtually any other invention that didn't exist before it was invented.

There was a time in the history of humanity when none of the things we take advantage of in our daily lives had ever been thought of.... and then one by one, they were thought of by people who had never heard of or seen them before.

And you're right, not seeing something doesn't make it real. Nor does seeing it.

Of course if I see something (and I have a few times) I will question weather or not I've seen it. But I don't buy into the whole its a subconscious thing.

[bbeljefe]

I would have to respectfully disagree. I"ve started experiencing stuff way before I ever got into the paranormal or even knew what it was for that matter. How can my mind come up with something that I didn't know about? Doesn't make sense to me. All I have to say is just cause you haven't seen or experienced something doesn't mean it's not real.

The same way humans conjured up the notion of deities. And virtually any other invention that didn't exist before it was invented.

There was a time in the history of humanity when none of the things we take advantage of in our daily lives had ever been thought of.... and then one by one, they were thought of by people who had never heard of or seen them before.

And you're right, not seeing something doesn't make it real. Nor does seeing it.

Of course if I see something (and I have a few times) I will question weather or not I've seen it. But I don't buy into the whole its a subconscious thing.

It's not a matter of buying into it, it's a matter of accepting the empirical evidence that shows how the brain works. The science on this subject is well tested and proven to be predictable and demonstrable so not buying into it is akin to not buying into the whole 2+2=4 thing.

Matter of fact, the resistance to "buy into" new scientific facts is a self defensive function of the subconscious mind... while you're pondering what I've written your subconscious is pondering all the ramifications of how accepting this knowledge will affect your relationships and other aspects of your life. If, in the end, your subconscious decides that accepting this knowledge will be detrimental to you with respect to how you are treated by those around you, you will refuse to accept it even in the face of incontrovertible evidence.

That's the reason why there are still millions of religious people in the US.... even though there is zero evidence of gods and mountains of evidence against them. People won't accept that fact not because they're stupid but because to do so can come at an extremely high cost to relationships, familial support and sometimes even careers.

And the proof for that statement is in the recent study that asked Americans who they would least likely accept as a husband to their daughters. Was it a black man for a white daughter? No. White man for a black daughter? No. Gentile for a Jewish daughter? No. Across all religious and ethnic backgrounds, the person most likely to be rejected by a family was an atheist.... of any color, ethnicity or nationality. Why? Because we threaten the superstitions and rituals that people have lived their entire lives honoring and thus, we threaten their acceptance within their in group.

[TeamHT]

Either you didn't read the post very well or you just don't understand...

No one is disregarding the subconscious. What I'm reading is he is suggesting a way to offer a controlled variable where test subject's subconscious isn't under the influence to actually test whether or not the manifestation is part of the subconscious or not.

I read it and understood it quite well. His control is not a control because you cannot remove the subconscious mind from a living human being.

Trust me... I've tried it with any number of illicit substances throughout my life and it can't be done. :-P

It truly seems you didn't understand it then. Case in point, it was never said to remove the subconscious. The controlled variable is to use someone who is blind and hasn't been under the influence of possible paranormal activity. The subconscious isn't capable of processing information it doesn't have. That would be the whole point. He doesn't know he's going to a supposed haunted location, and without visual information his subconscious would remain free and we would be able to see how someone acts in this situation.

[TeamHT]

The fact you've used drugs doesn't stop the subconscious from processing information your brain already stores. Our brains function almost like a switch and switches quickly to process all the information our 9 senses take in. The subconscious is merely the result of our intellectual freedom and evolution. It can do amazing things, but it can only process the information the brain itself contains. It does not make up information, or gather its own.