Ghosts! Are they real?

Where spirits reside.

I used to be very skeptical of the paranormal and did not believe in ghosts or anything paranormal. But because of my interest in electronic voice phenomenon and some other paranormal type experiences I have had. I have opened my mind and became a believer and I now feel that ghosts most likely are real and that there is something to the paranormal. And it is probable that our souls do continue to exist after the end of our physical life's. And if it is true that ghosts exist, then I have also wondered where our ghosts or spirits reside. I have often asked myself, do they exist within our realm of reality, but perhaps on a much more subtle level, or do they reside in an entirely different realm of existence such as another dimension, or perhaps even in another time, or maybe even in another universe.

Some of the main stream Christian denominations believe that ghosts may exist in a state of purgatory, needing to work through the sins of their lives before being allowed to enter the gates of Heaven or are banned to the eternal damnation of Hell for their sins. Others may believe that these spirits or ghosts, are for some reason, either earth bound or trapped between realities, and they, the ghosts either don't want to move on to the afterlife (whatever that may be) because of fear of the retribution they may receive, for transgressions and sins that they may have committed in their lives. Perhaps it is also true that they don't want to leave our reality because they feel they have unfinished business, or they don't want to leave because of an intense emotional attachment they may have to a living person or person's, or they may feel the need to comfort a grieving loved one. And I suppose it is also possible that some ghosts or spirits are comfortable with their existence in our reality, and they feel familiar with it and just don't want to leave. I suppose it is also possible that some ghosts do not realize they're deceased, because their death was sudden and unexpected, such as battlefield casualties in war, auto accidents or even murder victims, or anyone who may have died suddenly and very abruptly.

Most main stream scientists are extremely skeptical of ghosts and the paranormal in general. Most of these scientifically minded people believe that the paranormal is nothing more than an overactive imagination, or at worst may even be a symptom of mental illness. But I also suppose there are some scientists, who may be just open minded enough, to at least believe in the possibility that the paranormal is real. And I would also suppose, that the ones who do believe in the possibility of the paranormal, probably would believe that spirits or ghosts reside in another dimension (As string theory indicates, there may be 10 or possibly even 11 spatial dimensions) or perhaps even in another time. Albert Einstein believed, as part of his famous theory of relativity that the past, present and future all exists simultaneously. And if what, Dr. Einstein believed about space and time is true, than that could possibly explain what some ghosts might be, and where they might exist. Ghosts may be nothing more than a fleeting glimpse of someone from the past through an ultra-thin part of the veil that separates the dimensions of time, past, present and future. And who knows, perhaps people from the future may even view us as ghosts for the same reason. I suppose it may even be possible to interact, to a limited degree with these people from the past, and that I think could explain EVP or electronic voice phenomenon.

By Martin Burns www.areghostsreal.net

James Randi is in my opinion one
of those closed minded skeptics.

Skepticism and the paranormal

The first type is that of the true believer. These are the people who believe in ghosts based on faith, and faith alone. They believe because of religious convictions, i.e. Christians who believe in angels and demons, Heaven and Hell and the continuation of the soul after death, they believe in such things because the religious doctrine of their faith demands it of them, they must believe.

Others may believe in ghosts and the paranormal because of some personal experiences they have had with ghosts themselves. They may have seen or felt what they believe to be the apparition of a deceased loved one. This is probably most likely to occur shortly after the death of their loved one, and while they are still in a state of extreme grief. Or they may have lived in, or are now living in a house, that they believe to be haunted, and have experienced unusual, paranormal or poltergeist types of activity. Because of their experiences they are now convinced of the reality of the ghosts. Whether the events are real in an empirical manner really does not matter, because the person who experienced these events believes they are real, and that is all the proof they need. Some of the individuals who experience and believe in the paranormal may be mentally ill, hallucinate from the use of illicit drugs and even prescription medications can alter ones sense of reality. I do not make these statements to convince the believers that these things are not real, because in their minds they may be, very real! And who knows, perhaps what a psychiatrist or psychologist may label as an hallucination is in fact a vision of a reality that is invisible to the rest of us.

The second type of person is the open-minded skeptic. These are people who are open to the idea that there may be some things that are beyond the scope of normal human understanding and perhaps do exist. They believe that ghosts and the paranormal may be real. But the open-minded skeptic wants something more than just some hearsay or flimsy evidence to convince them of the reality of ghosts. They want evidence that is more substantial than some scratchy, barely audible EVP or photos of orbs, fog or some other unexplainable anomaly, to help convince them of the reality of the paranormal and of ghosts. These are also the people who may be reluctant to believe, even if they themselves have had a paranormal type experience, because they know that the human mind can and does sometimes play tricks on us, even their own mind. But I think they, the open minded skeptics want to believe, but it's going to take more proof then has been put forward thus far.

The third type of person is the true skeptic. Many people who are labeled as skeptics are automatically assumed to be nonbelievers and closed minded. This is not the case at all. The skeptic isn't someone who disbelieves, but rather a person who want empirical and irrefutable scientific proof that ghosts are real. They are the ones who believe that almost all claims of the paranormal and ghosts can be debunked as natural phenomena. But they are also the ones who can be convinced by using the appropriate scientific methodology. This I think is the category I would have placed myself, until of some personal experiences that I have had. I think most main stream scientists would fall into this category. They are trained to be analytical and skeptical and not buy into anything at face value. There is one famous skeptic, James Randi who offers a 1 million dollar reward to anyone who can prove the paranormal or any aspect of it. To date no one has been able to provide the proof needed to pass the test to Mr. Randi's satisfaction. I have listened to Mr. Randi speak and somehow he seems, to me to fall more into the last category (The closed-minded skeptic).

The fourth type of person is the closed-minded skeptic. These are the people who probably would not believe in ghosts or the paranormal under any conditions, and no matter what the proof may be, or who provided it. I think the reason some people may become this way is because of adverse reactions to religions indoctrinations. I also think most true atheists would fall into this category. Also some military veterans who may have experienced graphic and extreme war violence may also develop this attitude because their faith in the idea of God has been shaken, shaken to the point where they may almost become atheistic. My late father, who was a medic in world war II, was in this category, he believed that when you're dead, your dead, and that's all there is to it. He did not believe in Heaven or Hell, life after death, ghosts or the paranormal or anything of that nature. To him it was all bunk. I don't even know for sure even if he had a belief in God or not. All I can say is "Dad, I hope you're wrong".

By Martin Burns www.areghostsreal.net

Ghost hunting with dowsing rods

Dowsing has been around for centuries it has been used for finding water and other natural elements, as in ore and precious gem mining. It is also called rhabdomancy which the dictionary defines as: (from the Greek) Divination by means of a wand or rod, especially for discovering underground water or ores.

Dowsing or divining can be used for finding many different things and in our present day it has been used by; oil refineries, farmers, well drillers, treasure hunters and police detection use. Dowsing has been used by the military during World War II and the Viet Nam war for finding enemy targets. It was widely publicized and met with excellent success rates.

Today the dowsing rod is very popular in ghost hunting and more!

By looking at the method in which the rods works you can compare them to sophisticated electronic equipment for detecting energy fields. You can test their sensitivity by using them along with an EMF meter (electromagnetic field detector). Your rods will move to detect physical manifestations that require an amount of energy, just like an EMF meter. The nice thing about your rods is, it cannot experience battery energy drain like an EMF meter!

Quantum physics teaches us that everything in the universe is a mass of molecules that vibrate and has an energy field. Even the very thoughts in your brain, are waves which is an energy field that can be measured. Every bit of energy vibrates and puts out waves which can be measured in one way or another. Your divining rods can pick up and detect these fields when trained to tune into the vibration, just like a tuning fork.

Practicing with your Rods to learn the signals that alert you to energy

Your rods may indicate an energy field by crossing for positive and open wide for negative. The action of crossing or open or bobbing up and down is a personal preference in which you train your rods. Practice with them so you know what they are indicating. I use my rods to cross for positive and open for negative. You may even use a bobbing action it's all up to you

• You must tune into your sixth sense when approaching your new dowsing skill.
• Then Practice, practice, practice is the most important part of dowsing>

Let's start with water:
Think of what you are attempting to find, tune into its vibration. Throw a water bottle or cross a watering hose and see how your rods react to the positive vibration of water. Try it on various wells or hoses that you know are there and practice this until you see the reaction you get. Then move on to electricity and again think, tune and then find. Use an electrical cord or go outside and find your overhead or underground electrical lines going to the house.

Try finding lost objects like your keys, tune into its vibration then find. Hide in a room and have someone hide the object for you. Then think about where it is. You should come out of the room thinking of its tune and vibration. Pay great attention to the signals, finding a lost object (this includes treasure) you will have to follow the very subtle direction points made by your rods. Go slow taking one step at a time. You may notice that only one rod will point you in the proper direction this is normal. After success and practice you will be able to move swiftly to find your target but go slow at first.

When you have the basics down go ghost hunting with your local paranormal group or on a ghost tour with your rods and see what they indicate.

By Martin Burns www.areghostsreal.net