Do you believe in the afterlife?
13 years ago
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- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
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Do you believe in ghosts or spirit activity?
Comments (27)I've only had one very negative experience that scared the crap out of me. When I was a teenager, my friends and I were interested in a "darker" subculture and used to hang out in cemeteries and things like that. One night, we were at my house playing with the Ouija board. I know better now, and I won't touch them, but when you're 16 you don't really consider the consequences. We didn't really experience anything during the game because we were laughing and having fun with it. But later that night, after my friends left, I went to bed and woke up to a visitor at the foot of my bed. My room was dark, but this thing was the complete absence of light. It was about 7 feet tall, solid and black as sin. Just standing there at the foot of my bed staring at me. My two cats were sleeping on my bed and they both jumped up, hissing and ran for the closed door and clawed desperately at it trying to get out. I sat straight up and screamed, and at that moment it sort of dissolved into glitter and then shot under my bed. Upon further reflection, I think I invited something very negative into my house and I was relieved to move out soon after. To counter that, after my mom died, I had a few pleasant experiences. My mom wore the same perfume her entire life so I immediately associate it with her. I also collect perfumes and she knows I have a huge collection. A few weeks after she died, I noticed a small bottle of her perfume on the floor so I absently put it on a dresser in the guest room. The next day, I went in there and the perfume was on the floor again. I didn't think much of it assuming the cats had knocked it down so I put it back up, and then the next day, it was on the floor again. I thought this was really strange, so then I put it back up, right in the middle so it couldn't accidentally fall off and the cats couldn't easily knock it off, and put a bottle of my perfume right next to it. And then the next day, I come into the room and both bottles are on the floor. Now, it could have been the cats but I doubt it. Just something fun and it made me smile. Another really strange thing that happened was a few months ago, I really wanted to relocate from Boston to California. But it meant leaving a good job, leaving my apartment and leaving my friends, and I was really struggling with whether it was the right move for me or not. And I landed an interview with a company out in California, and while I was doing some internet research on the company, I Googled the company name and one of the people who works there and the 3rd result that popped up was my mom's name, which is pretty unique and not at all related to any of the search terms. I just thought it was really cool and I interpreted it as a sign. After that, everything fell in place. And now I'm here in California. :)...See MoreDo you believe in God?
Comments (459)I'm with you Terriks! The OP asked if I believe in God. Well, not in a Biblical God. I do not belong to a church, because I feel that too much weight is given to the writings in a book-be it the Bible, the Torah, the Quoran or any other scriptural writings. And when it's down in writing, it's taken as the law by those who follow it. But I always feel like that law needs some rules to define the intent, and those laws definitely are open to interpretation. Basically, I believe in a spiritual presence. If I were to describe my spirtual beliefs, I'd lean toward Pagan and the worship of Mother Earth. My 'God' is whatever spiritual being(s) that bring me comfort when I'm low or lost. I say a prayer to 'God' but it's not an entity-more like putting my fears, wishes, blessings out to the Universe for the psychic energies to pick up and return as needed. I can say, without a doubt that I do not believe in Jesus Christ. But I won't knock anyone who does! My eldest daughter is an atheist and it does bother me to some extent. She does not believe in an afterlife or a spiritual deity (she refers to the Flying Spaghetti Monster) but I believe with all my heart there is an afterlife. Not Heaven, however, and definitely no Hell. I was raised on the fringes of organized religion. My mother was raised Presbyterian and my fathers family was non-practicing Catholic. We were not pushed in to any particular religion, but my siblings would identify themselves as Christian if asked. I've got no problem singing Hymns or saying the Lords Prayer-to me those bring comfort and that is always good. But on the same token, singing rock songs brings me comfort. I find my soul is refreshed by Nature. Put me by the sea and I am re-energies (those negative ions!) I am utterly entranced by the Cosmos and I believe in evolution. My beliefs do have a science base-but Paganism also has a scientific bent. I won't judge a person on their religion-and I'd ask those who have a different belief than I do to not judge me. I've been told I'll burn in Hell because I don't believe in the Bible. I can't speak of other organized religions, because I live in a very Christian dominated place, so my experiences have been limited by those who've judged me and proclaim to be a Christian. On the other hand, I've known people who proclaim their devotion to Jesus Christ who are the nicest, least judgemental, if somewhat naive in their world views, people I've met....See MoreDo You Believe "Gut" Feelings are Something that Shouldn't be Ignored?
Comments (39)I think there is a difference between gut feelings and intuition. I am skeptical of my gut feelings but not of my intuition, although both can be wrong at times. My gut feelings can be wrong about 50% of the time, but my intuition has a much higher accuracy, historically. My gut feelings can be reflex reactions, and those can never be trusted, and I do not. When I have an intuitive feeling, I recognize it for what it is and pay attention to it, whether I act upon it or not. I've been in the woods when I could sense that there would be a bear in the near vicinity, and in each case, there was, and I was able to backtrack to avoid the bear instead of facing it head-on. Once I sensed a bear behind me, and it was a good thing that I did. I've also had premonitions that would strike me instantly, and these turned out to be extremely accurate, even though I did not want to believe them when they struck me. I never wanted to believe them when they happened to me and generally kept them to myself, only to regret later that I did not reveal them to others to warn them. According to Einstein's unified field theory, there are at least ten dimensions, which you can read about in Michio Kaku's book Hyperspace, in which he discusses string field theory. I also believe that some sort of time travel is possible, to visit probable futures, and that this can be done sometimes while asleep and dreaming but also sometimes while conscious and accessing another dimension. This has happened to me on many occasions, and when I dream of the future just before it happens, it is the most accurate, but if I dream of it very far in advance, the probable future has more opportunities to change. When a dream comes to reality, I feel like I am experiencing déjà vu , but I often realize that it is really just something that I have dreamed previously and not actually experienced before. This happened to me much more frequently when I was much younger. As a child, I also had a lot of dreams that seemed to be of my previous deaths, but I have no way of knowing whether this is the case or not. Fortunately, I do not have these dreams any more. I tend to have extremely vivid dreams, many of which cause me anxiety and are difficult for me to awake from. While having these dreams, I am generally convinced that I am awake and not dreaming, even though I have identified certain clues to let myself know that I am dreaming and not awake. One that did not work was trying to pinch myself during a dream to confirm that I was asleep, but when I did this, I felt the pain of the pinch, and this only served to convince me that I was awake. Another clue is when I recognize that I am hopelessly lost and will never be able to find my way home on the streetcar or by walking back on the path I have just been on, or that I am in a house or building that keeps morphing as I am walking through it. I then say to myself, this only happens in dreams, and so I must be dreaming, but I am not always convinced, as I do have a tendency to get lost in real life. This might be why I have collected maps....See MoreContacted from the afterlife?
Comments (30)Oakley, my condolences on the passing of your BIL. Such interesting experiences. Thank you all for sharing. So many to "like." I've had several to share. My paternal grandmother was in Florida with my parents and one of her sisters. The two of them (the sisters) went for a walk on the beach after dinner. After their walk they were hit by a car crossing the street. This was my grandmother we sat with at church each Sunday, then went to their house for Sunday dinner. Spent many nights at their house. Needless to say we were very close. My grandfather had died four years prior. They had been married forever. He was almost 99yo and she was 18yrs his junior. My aunt and I talking that night and we both said if she sees that light, she is going. She missed him so much and her faith was strong. The next day she passed away. I thought about her daily, a lot, for years after this happened. Over a decade later, when I was in the shower, I heard her say "I am okay." I think it was her way of saying don't worry about me, and also leave me alone so I can rest in peace. :D While in the same house (the one we built on the lake), I had the most vivid dream I have ever had. I won't go into the details, but there was sound, color, feeling (emotions and physical feelings) and it involved our three children. Nothing bad, just so very real. The second I woke up I thought back through the entire dream. I was laying on my side, and turned over to my back thinking "wow," and saw a white figure of a man at the foot of our bed. I won't go into details of him either, but it was comforting. Again in the same house, a close friend lost a loved one and their was a special song. That morning on the phone, the friend had said they just wanted a sign. I just happened to have DD2's acrylic music box my mother had given her, and it plays that song. It was kept in the bottom drawer of the dresser in our bedroom. I rarely went in the drawer and had not been in it that day or the days before. As I walked through the bedroom, the music box started playing. Of couse I had to call my friend back and it gave them comfort. I've shared the story here about the death of my parents. The day after my father died by suicide, DH and I went back to their house. For those that don't know, my mother had been at home in hospice for six months, but had just been moved to a hospice bed in a small rehabilitation place two weeks prior. I believe this was part of his plan so that she wouldn't be at home alone after he died. Anyway, DH and I were getting ready to leave their house, but were not together. I was walking from the powder room through the foyer to go to the kitchen/garage - easier leaving than front entrance. I looked in the large foyer mirror and in the beveled part I saw my father. I was a step or two past seeing him when I started slowly walking backwards and forwards a few times trying to see what was reflecting that would have made me think it was him. There was nothing that would have done this. I told DD2 and two friends, but not DH because I did not want to freak him out, and he had been through enough already. The next Monday we went to the coroner's office to pick up his belongings and copies of the pages he had left. The autopsy report stated what he was wearing when he died and it was what I had seen him wearing in the mirror. Only DH had seen him the day we went to the house and found him, and we had not talked about what he was wearing. A day or two after Dad died, our girls were visiting Mom. She said a handsome young man in uniform had been to see her, and giggled. He was in the Reserves for over 30yrs, and they had lived on base twice during his military career. She was lucid up until her last ten days. Several months after Mom died, we had an immediate family only private gathering. Their ashes were buried together, per his wishes, with a small tin filled with mementos and photos I collected of their life together. A short time after that, I had a dream where they were at a lake, walking hand in hand down a pier, so I could only see their backs. He turned slightly, but I still could not see their faces, and he waved, as if saying goodbye. I've had dreams where past family members and pets have visited. Who knows if they are just dreams or visits, while many are more open to the idea of visits....See More- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 13 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
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