you dismiss the experiences of thousands and thousands of people (probably out of fear and jealousy) and I'm ignorant. LOL
i apologize for the comment of ignorance, i still believe it's the people's minds playing tricks of them. can someone find me credible documentary of a 'ghost'? cause all i've seen are fake t.v. shows with a bunch of worthless "high-tech" ghost hunting equipment. i don't think ghosts are real, nor will i until i experience one or am fully convinced.
Why should there be evidence? Look at all the stuff we're finding out about quantum mechanics. Spooky action at a distance; particle behavior changing because of observation, etc. There's are things that we have no rational explanation for whatsoever, because our science is not yet advanced enough to figure out why these things occur. It takes time. Some people's minds do play tricks on them. We know this. But when a phenomena occurs to several people, in one room at the same time that's far more than a trick of the mind...and these such occurrences have been recorded since humanity developed systems of writing.
Nothing in quantum mechanics lends any credence to the existence of paranormal phenomena. If there's no evidence for it (in this case, there is not), there's no reason to believe it happens until evidence shows otherwise. The default and correct position is to assume that it's false, for now.
This is essentially what i was trying to say, until i have it happen to me i won't believe it, and even then i would question the experience.
Nothing to crazy. But when we would play it w/ my buddys grandma she could channel spirits or something. I swear no one was moving the eye ore whatever its called. It was freaky. But you might as well watch the old horror flicks "Witchboard". There is pry like 9 of them by now. They are all about the weejee board.
[quote name='"Continuum"']Nothing in quantum mechanics lends any credence to the existence of paranormal phenomena. If there's no evidence for it (in this case, there is not), there's no reason to believe it happens until evidence shows otherwise. The default and correct position is to assume that it's false, for now.[/quote] Never said it did. I used it as an example to show that we really don't know shit about both the microcosm or the macrocosm, and the more we learn the weirder it gets. I just refuse to close my mind off to the possibility
[quote name='"FluffyBud"'] This is essentially what i was trying to say, until i have it happen to me i won't believe it, and even then i would question the experience.[/quote] I've seen you post strongly in other threads your belief in aliens. Have you witnessed an alien? Do you know for fact that any of the reported UFOs are from outer space? No, you don't. Your belief in aliens who visit this planet is no more rational than a belief in ghosts. The "evidence" for alien visits is circumstantial at best especially when it comes to people seeing actual embodied aliens
Well, except that Ouija boards have been debunked numerous times in well-documented scientific studies, as well as the fact that it's owned by Milton Bradley. Like I said, clever marketing and gullible consumers.
[quote name='"Continuum"']Well, except that Ouija boards have been debunked numerous times in well-documented scientific studies, as well as the fact that it's owned by Milton Bradley. Like I said, clever marketing and gullible consumers.[/quote] Doesn't matter that its owned by a toy company. It represents an archetype in peoples' minds, and that's how it has power over some people and not over others. Archetypes and symbols are potent things in our minds. It might be a trick of the mind. I don't know. Many people have shared experiences with it. We know that shared hallucinations can occur under the right conditions. I'm just not comfortable calling all of these people who have had experiences with Ouija boards liars. Sure, some of them are...but all of them? Not a chance
I'm not talking about through drugs or anything like that Have you ever been sober and had an experience in which an embodied being from outside of our planet visited you? If so I'd like to hear the story.
What's this about archetypes and symbols? You'll have to explain that to me. I agree that it is highly unlikely that they're all liars, if that's what you meant. I don't think they are lying, I just think they've been tricked by their own psyche. Ideomotor effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This is the most likely explanation.
Basically, Jung's model of psychology states that symbols and their archetypes (an archetype is a symbol itself, but it's like the ur-symbol: newer symbols point backwards in time (and collective consciousness) to that archetype) hold a vast amount of power over the human mind. That power doesn't have to be negative. All religious groups in the world have symbols which point to an archetype (eternal life; God; nirvana, etc) which then translates into some activity (genuflection; reverence; prayer, etc). The Catholic church, for centuries, have had luck abating so called "demonic possession" through the use of symbols and archetypes. Now, most cases of "demonic possession" can probably be better identified as one of the schizophrenia subtypes (usually catatonic), but it is indisputable that the use of these symbols and archetypes, at times, has caused the sufferer to calm down and 'return to normal' for a period. Their delusions are pointing them to act in violent/irrational manners, and the symbols and the archetypes they point to are calming the delusions. This is wholly an unconscious association. Of course this is not true for all cases of "demonic possession" but the same interplay between symbols and archetypes can be seen at work in all religions that practice exorcism. The same interplay of symbols and archetypes is used in some models of psychotherapy today. So, in the case of the Ouija board, it has become a societal symbol which points back in time to the archetype of evil. It permeates our culture quite completely: everybody knows what a Ouija board is. This means that, for the vast majority of people, anything out of the ordinary that occurs during use of a Ouija board (various sounds, flickering of lights, etc) is going to immediately be associated with that archetype. As already evidenced, this can do some pretty strange things in our minds: hallucinations may occur (sometimes collective), especially of the auditory variety, and yes, the ideomotor effect might take place. Can you contact spirits with a Ouija board? I don't know. I've never played with one and have no intention of doing so. But something clearly occurs to some people when they play around with these things, and whether it arises from within or without doesn't matter: it's a very real experience at the time which leaves a lasting impression