Anybody interested in a theological disscussion on the above? Do you believe in them? What does your religion/philosophy teach on them? What's your overall take on this type of thing? Any takers? I won't bore you with my beliefs and background until I know there is some interest.

Man, are you on my level or what?! I was just thinking about the same thing. I believe in them all. And I also think that they exist whether or not you believe in them. And you're not crazy if you believe in them or see them...you know how supposedly we only use 10% of our brains? I think people who can see ghosts are using a normally-unused part. The way I see it, a ghost is a person without a body. Their body died and for some reason they're still hanging around earth instead of going to heaven or hell or wherever. Maybe they don't know they're dead. Maybe they've got unfinished business here on earth, if they were killed before they had time to carry it out. They can haunt a place or a family. They are never 100% good or 100% evil, because human beings are always a mix of the two. I don't know what Catholicism has to say about ghosts. Spirits/demons: are non-human things. Very real. Capable of being 100% good or 100% evil. In my understanding of things, these babies don't haunt a place, but they show up when they've got some business with you. Angels appear when they've got a message for you or when they're going to save you. Demons appear when you threaten them (like if you're saintly and they need to tempt you back over to their side) or when you do something that calls them. The Catholic Church says these things exist. So. Those are my boring beliefs and background. What are yours?

it's all in your imagination.

Kill-joy

Killroy? Allroy saves? Allroy for Prez?

i believe that things exist beyond our perceptions. there have been studies done, and hopefully someone knows what i'm talking about because i forget most of the details-- but these studies have shown that people will not see things that are outside of what they believe possible... something like that. i have been in the company of things i cannot explain through conventional understandings or scientific means. i've also done a lot of psychedelics, so who knows.

Ok, here goes. I started thinking about this when it came up on the movie thread concerning "The Blair Witch Project." The Catholic Church I'm sure has a lot of rules concerning this stuff, but I never learned it in 20 years of being in the church. What I get from it being passed down to me is as follows. I am not a Catholic theologian, so feel free to clarify my points if you are. In the Devils are real category - Devils are real, dammit, and you better not take the Lord's name in vain or call spirits. Dungeons and Dragaons, Quiji Boards, and seances invite trouble. If you ever come across a minion, say "In the name of Jesus, I rebuke you." Exorcism is VERY real in the Catholic Church. Ghosts/Misc. Spirits - never mentioned, see below. They are good angels or bad, there is no in-between. That's where purgatory comes in. Angels: A whole heirarchy, with different jobs and whatnot. Michael, Gabriel, guardian angels, etc., which brings us to - Lucifer. Lucifer is a fallen angel, with his minions and those sentenced by God to keep him company in eternity. His crime, much like ours biblically speaking, was a bad case of self-importance. What I Believe Now I believe in spirits. Not so sure how they are aligned. I believe in one God, (not to be confused with one religion) one Devil, and their cohorts, angels and minions. I don't like the thought of all these dead people wandering around aimlessly. So the belief that you somehow move on at death appeals to me. Heaven and Hell aren't places to me, they are states of mind/spirit. This sort of thinking leads to more questions, not really any answers. To me, spirit, ghost, angel, minion, are really all the same. Other worldly entities that I can't even begin to explain. Some are nice, some aren't. Here's the clincher to me: they aren't here unless they want to be. Sending a message, giving us humans a hard time in general. At the same time, I believe that most "phenomenon" is all in our heads, literally. Our minds are very powerful. There is an interesting fictional novel based on an true experiment where a group of people "invented" a ghost, and it became "real" from their collective conciousness. Interesting experiment, great fictional book, can't remember their names now. I've been involved in one seance, and I will NEVER touch a Quiji board or allow one in my house. No use messing with that stuff. Why invite trouble. Calling spirits is a big no-no in my book. That's the short version.

You're right on that one. Ouija (sp?) boards are a conduit (?) for lost souls. Don't mess with them. I had an experience as a kid alone that made me fling it away. On another note. One of my relatives and their family were visited by a "poltergeist". . know what I mean? only have a few minutes now but will post if interested after 8pm New Orleans time. Central that is.

Okay, first of all, I tend to believe in pretty much Everything, but I'm skeptical if anyone tells me they've seen a ghost/angel/demon/whatever. I'd probably think they imagined it or something. Still, I belive they exist someHow. Secondly...I've always thought it would be really cool to be an angel. Something about going around "helping" people and making things all nice and peaceful really appeals to me. Of course, that doesn't mean I lift my lazy butt up off the couch long enough to actually help people in real life, but I'm a hypocrate. I'll wait till I'm dead to help out.

I played with ouija boards as a kid and am convinced that my friend wasn't pushing the planchette, and I know I wasn't.

there was a couple that had started doing re-modeling on their house. strange things started happening, keys would disappear (from pockets etc.) then were re-found INside of the house spread out in a circle on the keyring on the kitchen table. Front door would be found open and all of the drawers were just pulled out and hanging. nothing was removed. the screens would be found pushed out opened, and odd things like pins would be found also circular formation. can't tell too much, the story was not encouraged to be told. After many unusual instances, . . . well the police were called and they noticed these occurances. The last call was on Mothers Day. the police arrived, took notice of the seeming breaking and entering and usual oddities then in broad daylight stones rained down on them. That was the last. The father of the house had remarried. His wife had been terminally challenged years earlier. He had remarried and after some years the house was being remodelled. seems the first wife was there in spirit because these things happened from her birthday on until that mothers day. fini, rest in peace please

moldy rye bread.

I'm a skeptic about stories like that one too. I tend to believe they are products of the people involved, not spirits. I'd have to see a lot of research from a reputable university before I believed a story. But I do like hearing the stories, and don't discount anyone's experiences.

i believe in Satan, and angels, but not ghosts. ouija boards, IMO, are blather. but i still have nothing to do with them, cos i think Satan uses them to his own ends. He uses everything, you know, even religious people. like that bakker guy. skewered the public's perception of a normal preacher and the church in general. back to ouija boards: i heard of one experiment where all the ouija participants were blindfolded and told to use it normally. the result was a string of random gibberish letters.

of course, it could be argued that the gibberish WAS the message... I am a complete agnostic on everythng spiritual, which allows me to believe everything and nothing at the same time, while chewing gum at the same time. I am suspicious of anything the Church has labeled a demon, since it has a long track record of turning rival cults' deities into demons. (an aside: Did you know that Yahweh and Jehovah were once considerd to be seperate entities? I believe Yahweh was a storm god, and Jehovah a war god, although it could just as well be the other way around.) spirits: very hard to say for me. Sometimes I feel like it just isn't logically possible, that our existence is not much different from squirrels and squid. That's why I subscribe to Fortean Times, so I get reminded of just how much truly WEIRD shit is going on, shit that is not explained by any current physical/biological theories: doppelgangers, seeing yourself walking down the street or similar occurence, or when "the solution to the British Daily Telegraph's crossword No. 21,362 on September 24, 1994,included the words "passenger list," "slain," Master mariner," and "Estonia." Four days later, at 12:30 A.M. on September 28, the ferry Estonia sank in the Baltic with nearly 1,000 passengers on board. it was Europe's worst transport disaster since 1945." -Strange Days #1, pg 101. Cader Books, 1996

Which is why I say it doesn't hurt to believe in a power higher than ourselves, whether you call that power God or Satan or Zeus, Ares, Artemis, and Athena. To me, there is little difference (in terms of effort) between believing in God and believing in atoms. I have never seen an atom, I don't have an electron microscope, I don't know any scientists who have. Yet I take it on faith that everything in existence is made of these little tiny particles. Same thing with religious faith -- I've never seen God or talked to anyone who has talked to God, and yet I believe that God exists. Same thing, really. Plus, because I have this faith, when anything freaky happens, I can easily explain it to myself, and my psychological paradigm remains intact. Not to trivialize religious faith or anything....;)

it doesn't matter, Freddie is STILL dead.

After my sister died, my mother went to a spiritual adviser. Man was she blown away by what this woman told her. Basically she told my mother not to be at all forthcoming with any details, just to answer questions yes or no. And the things she told Mum were pretty specific, and also quite accurate. She claimed to be able to see my sister and my grandfather, and talked to them both. She also tried to "connect" with other people, including myself and my other siblings who are still alive. The weirdest thing is, when she connected with me, I got a really bad headache, and she told mum that I had resisted her attempts to reach me. I was at work, across town from where they were at that time. Anyway, I don't know if I believe in ghosts or god or angels, but I don't think that departing this body will extinguish ME - my soul, personality, whatever it is that makes me who I am, as distinct from everyone else in this world. Also dopplegangers - I have been told that there is someone in another city in NZ who is the exact image of me, but I have never met her.

Why don't you try to find her? If I know of someone somewhere who looked exactly like me, I'd freak and not rest till I saw her with my own three eyes.

There's a good French movie called "The Double Life of Veronique" that's about a woman with a doppleganger (among other things).

It's a good movie, yep. I believe the director was Polish. Not 100%, though.

You're not sure 100%, or he's not 100% Polish. LOL

actually, doppelgangers aren't another person that looks just like you, to my understanding. It IS you. a lot of these experiances happen when someone deviates from a well-esablished routine, like a delivery driver being delayed five minutes by a malfunctioning traffic light, and when he gets to a certain intersection, he is passed by his own truck coming back from the delivery, his doppelganger behind the wheel. I have never heard any reports of this happening twice in a row, ie the driver sees himself coming back, then when he is coming back, sees himself making the delivery. I just LOVE this stuff.

What happens to the doppelganger after the guy see's himself coming back? Does the dopp keep on living and going on with the rest of the guys day? Does the guy keep seeing his dopp five minutes ahead of himself? Does the dopp just Cease to exist at some point? And if so, when and why? I sound like I'm just being foolish, but those are serious questions. I never even heard of this idea before...I've always heard just the "looks exactly like you" thing. When did you Ever hear about this happening at All??

So a doppelganger is either a person that looks like you, or a time warp event, or even a "parellel universe" thing? Have any good books to read on this phenomenon? I've never heard the term used before. Got to look this up.

philip k dick has a great book. "a scanner darkly" actually, most of his stuff has a schizo sort of theme to it. a click away from god

"Valis" is one of the coolest books I've ever read. Heavy stuff there....the black iron prison and all that.... I read it for a class in Gnosticism I took and it's amazing how much they tie together.

Wow, i just finished reading "Now Wait for Last Year." About a drug that makes you unstuck in time. My favorite is "Radio Free Albemuth" a beautiful tale. I got the Doppelganger tale from Strange Days #1: the Year in Weirdness, from Fortean Times. Their references are the poole and Dorset Advertiser for 11/3/1994 for the particular story and also the November 1994 volume of the British Journal of Psychiatry, which examined 56 incidents. You can probably find that issue in a good library.

Valis and R F A are basically the same story, along with The Divine Invasion, I believe. Has anyone read PKD's non-SF stuff. You may be able to find that in a good library also.

Still relevant .I met my doppleganger years ago,allthough you learn nothing new from them,both persons think exactly the same.Perhaps nature has been creating clones for a long time.I told the guy the exact hour, day, month and year of his birth,[correctly]it was the same as mine .

I fully understand this is an old thread,i am just makeing a statement.

I met someone once, many years ago, whom was called my doppleganger, but I didn't see it. She had similar interests and was abnormally thin with brown hair, but I thought that was where it ended. On top of that she was like a year or so older than I am. It just didn't click for me.

I think "natures clones"also have a mental link,just like identical twins.That may be why we sometimes get to meet them.I suppose a re-incarnated soul can become twins,its a strange thought.

check this out: http://www.forteantimes.com/happened/doppelganger.shtml

i have been told numerous times, when in Kansas City and in California, that I look and act exactly like someone else people know. Sometimes it takes them for ever to realize I am not who they think I am.

Autoscopy or astral projection,perhaps,but my own dopplganger was a flesh and blood water softener system engineer,so i think my idea of split souls or split re-incarnation is also correct.We were not wearing the same cloths and did not have the same job,but are both in the constuction industry.

an odd thing has just happend,at the same time as i pressed the "post" of the above message,the room lit up with a flash of lightning,(the first in 8 months)just one thunderclap,probably means nothing (i hope)

"If you arethe mother of the Lord,step forward.If you are the Devil,step back"

...and you can shout this through the letterbox at Mormons...

What the hell is in the first picture? This is the current view of the cam, for comparison. I saw that first picture yesterday, and when I woke up in the middle of the night last night, I couldn't stop thinking about it....it freaked me out so much. Damn.

Wow, that is really addicting to sit there and watch. The first picture was the creepiest of them all, Spider. That's the one that actually looked scary. To me, it looks someone is haunched over. Of course, my imagination can run wild and say it's the ghost of the murderer, that's what he remembers, you know, tripping and falling- his one fatal mistake. I digress. Yeah, I will probably be thinking about this picture tonight when I get in bed. Oooohhh, gives me the willies...

The first pic looks like a huge pile of ghost shit.

But...come on...the cam refreshes every 30 seconds? And it's stationary? Do you know how much ghost shit one could plant in 30 seconds, between cam refreshes?

True. But it is an active public library, so you probably couldn't do anything too weird without getting yelled out by a librarian. Still, that first picture gives me the shudders.

Um, yelled *at*.

The 30 second refresh is at night. I have lots of experience sneaking into libraries at night. It ain't hard. :)

I like "yelled out" better.

Spider,ghost legs,nope, just dont beleive this stuff,its some kind of a put on...now hear me out,i have met people that swear to God they seen ghosts,one of who is a very close friend of Mr.Stephen Spielberg "you,all know him"...yup,guess you do...now this guy tells me 25 years back,he sees a monk. in a German hotel,that was walking down the wall,at the end of his bed,at 3 a.m.,he woke his wife,and she also saw it...i have no reason to disbelive this stuff...do you?

"Spider,ghost legs,nope, just dont beleive this stuff" "i have no reason to disbelive this stuff...do you?" say what now?

Dude, I don't care if you believe in ghosts or not. I just wanted to call y'all's attention to the scary picture that kept me up last night. Also: what Heather said.

why do you bother heather?

that's a question i ask myself often about most things

the dictionary definition of logic is designed to make perfect sense.

...unlike Sorabji :] :] :]

...now back to them haunted legs,i still dont belive it...is this the tip of the iceberg,what next?...ghostly ears,noses,toes,eyebrows,...why bits,and not the whole person?...do legs have a life of there own?...what if one leg wants to go to Mc.Donalds,and the other wants to go to Wimpy?????????

I live in a very old house (1937) and the original owner died in the bathroom, as we were signing the papers to buy the house....creepy. Her name was Malvina and I honestly believe she is still in the house. I had someone come over and bless the house some time back and she actually saw a lady with red hair in the laundry room. Well, Malvina, as a younger person, had red hair, so how did this lady know that? Now this is creepy...when my son was about 3 years old, I would hear him talk and he would be saying..."Hi Malvina...you can stop now!!" I would ask him what just happened and he would just say..."Oh, she's here again, so I just told her to go." Okay, this has made me think differently, so yes, I do believe in spirits.

...my first house was given to me by my Father,built about 1900,and i swear,i had the essence of something that died in 1910 in the downstairs back room,whenever i went in there,something was looking at the back of my head...my cat had no problem,but cats like negative energy,had to dump the place in the end,i still find that house comes back on the market every few years,its not cheap at 600,000$,but no one stays for long.My present house is 27 years old,and presents no problems.

...my Sister bought a house built about 1922,owned by a Judge,about 8 p.m. most evenings,she and her Husband (Mick) could smell pipe smoke in the lounge,so they both re-decorated the whole house,and there was no more pipe smoke,i think a re-dec can solve a lot of problems.

I don't want to change anything in my house, cause I want to keep the old charm. When we were looking at the house, she fell inlove with us, so naturally she insisted on selling if for what we offered. At that time, we paid $73,500 and now it's worth almost $400,000....WOW!! She liked the fact that we were having a baby, and no kids had ever lived in this house. I like knowing that she's hanging out, cause she's watching over us.

i love a happy ending...

Dodi,how is your base lending rate?1 and a half %?, in London 4 and half% and riseing,2 or 3 years from now i forcast a flat line in house inflation,first time buyers cant get on the ladder due to starting prices of 400,000$ plus,i was considering a property in Florida,but the prices dont seem to move,hence my building of 2 villas on mainland Greece,work starts in September,i was considering buying in Spain,but at 2,000,000$ for a 5/6 bed villa its much the same as England,or more...i think you did very well, by the way,mainlnd Greece has a house inflation rate of 15% per annum,not bad for a country that has little chance of being involved in a war,and if you get it built yourself,you make 40 to 50% profit to begin with...sorry to go on so much,but property is my thing.

i would not call 1937 very old

Houses or men?

http://catoftheday.com/archive/2002/March/18.html

More Dodi...and a cute pic.

My house IS old and has a lot a charm. Yes V.v...we did do well and I think we can sell it for more than what their saying. We get asked all the time if we're selling, so people are very interested. Plus, we live close to downtown Denver, and it's booming here big time. My neighborhood has lots of cute shops, much like an old town, but it's in the city. We also live across the street from a golf course, park/lake and a great view of the mountains. Oh well...it's home..sweet home.

V.v...thanks for making my day!! That cat is adorable...much like myself... :0)

..cant disagree on that.

:)

Dodi,:)

Hey, what's going on? Anymore haunted house stories....ghost and goblins and all that creepy stuff? :)

Dodi,so nice to see you back on line,xxxx,thats kisses,o.k.? I know you been real worn out last few days,doing stuff for your family,you get it all sorted? myself?...I got my own house deeds back from Greece,now I need to find a safe deposit box in London,Greek law is real strange,now I own my own deeds,they are no longer in the hands of my solicitor,but i expect i will get this sorted out fast,i normally do,easy,i just shout at staff,and they do it for me.

...As allways,such a pleasure to post to such a nice person.I trust your relations and friends are all well?

...sorry i could not find for you a female cat,it was the best I could do at short notice,hope you forgive...

...did you ever get my Cherobil postings?if not, i will re-post,it is now at a new address,and it is still amazing...

what's that on the front porch? http://www.photoblink.com/imageView.asp?ImageID=116604

Dave...cool photo!! It looks like an old lady, doesn't it? I love stuff like this...find more...:)

V.v....yes, I've been real busy, but it's been with all my work outs and getting myself conditioned. I'm on this Body Type diet and man, does it work! I don't have much to lose, but the program is so healthy. I work out a lot and I'm consumed with it. My son is going into High School, so I want to be one of those.."cool moms"....ya know what I mean? Anyway, just trying to stay out of trouble...and you? I'm glad you are getting things finalized with the Villa...I'm so jealous!! :( I just bought a new car, so that's something new and exciting. I got a Volvo and it's the coolest, but nothing like your Villa, I'm sure. Keep me posted on your progress with everything, okay? Take Care :0)

Dave, I would say either a) the camera shutter was open a long time and someone walked up the stairs and sat in the chair, or b) it's a ghost. How's that?

I really don't see anything, but then again, I'm in bad need of an eye exam and new glasses.

Dodi,got a phone call from Gunner Dath (my Swedish architect)his car got caught in a rock fall 100 miles out side of Athens,but he is o.k. He tells me lots of Greek guys stopped to help him out of the car and get him to hospital,its just typical of the Greeks.,and i just found one of your American actresses is half Greek,i dont know the spelling,but its Jennifer Alliston,or Anniston i think,may have been in "Cheers"...you will love your Volvo,it is the most safe car in world and they handle a lot like Merc and Audi,very stable,but you do need power steering,as they are real heavy.

Dougie,in the Roman arch to the left of the front porch i see a naked female torso with no legs,but i think its a put on.

Dodi,if you like odd web sites,i have lots,i collect them.I found one today,telling me "how to build your own God",i will try to post it.

I don't get my car for 2 more weeks, but it's a Turbo, fun and fast! Yes, send me some sites, that would be nice...thanks!

Dodi,stay happy.I will post you lots of stuff,i am still trying to figure how you enjoy life so much,its a wonderfull thing,you could allmost be a "lifestyle guru"...remember a while back some one called you a "Sorabji Cheerleader?"...well allthough it was intended as an insult,its not,its just the way you are,people like you are so rare,if there is one person in the world i would i would like to shake the hand of,its you.

...more ideas,the only Woman i ever met in my life that has the same out look as you is Iris Fenton,the ex Wife of Alvin Stardust,the English pop singer,now Iris had real killer problems,her Father killed himself,then her Brother killed himself,then Alvin divorced her to bring up Sean and Adam,her sons,on her own,now Iris found some kind of iron strenth deep inside her soul,and fought back,big time,perhaps much the same as you when you were looking death in the face,and she came back bigger and stronger than ever before,is that what it takes to be super human?myself,ive also been to hell and back same as you,but it was a long time back and i need to kick start my own life,any hints?

Why thanks V.v.!! I met some lady lastnight, at the park and she just got out of a mental institution. She looked so sad, so naturally I began to feel sad. I sat and talked with her for awhile and began to feel her pain. I held her hand and I could see her come alive. Her eyes lit up and she began talking, so I listened. You see, I too went through something like that, but there was no one to hold my hand (family). By the end of the evening, we said goodbye and she thanked me. Isn't that we all want..to feel loved and needed? I made her feel that...just with my time and a simple touch. You see, if we would just take the time to listen, hold someone's hand, wouldn't this world be a better place? Trust me...I'm not perfect!! I do have my faults, as we all do. I just try to look at the beauty in life, and that's each and everyone of us. We all have something special to offer, so begin..... Oh, about being called a "Cheerleader"...it didn't bother me one bit. Infact, it has only made me cheer more...YIPPY!!!

...right on,young lady,but i still think you know somthing i dont know,i have to understand what it is that makes you a "cheer leader"...wow,i try to read through the lines,but i cant find it,you have something that allmost no one else has,hope...we all have in our head,huge amounts of power,we can change people,even the world,we just need to bring that power in to the light,you can do it,but i have forgotten,tell me...

...yet more thoughts,i all so have met people at there wits end,people that find a reason for liveing hard to find,i try to help as best i can,some have just come out of prison,or mental institutions,they find it real hard to addapt,i allways find the time for them,but as i get older,i find less reasons to exist,...if this is normal ageing process,then its about time we beat the system,in fact kicked it right up the ass.

http://w1.736.telia.com/%7Eu73602493/flashback.html

Dave,well thats up to your amazingly high standards,and its very good,in fact its very cool indeed,but its just not v.v., my life is not an acid trip,(wish it was)but its not,but if you can implant that in my brain on a permanant basis,i recon i can pay you with an Italian villa,with a/con...also,where is Hal?now i dont suppose you been shutting down his brain (again)? some how i allways tend to think of you and Hal as twin brothers,and i miss him a lot,why did so many Sorabjis make fun of Hal? dam if i know,he was real laid back and such a nice person,i ,spose he is still observing Jupiter,untill such time as he can no longer transmit...but seriously Dave,thanks for posting,and get back into small font and colour,soon,just wish i could do the same.

psssst. hey. it's not about you. it was just something to look at for a few minutes. sheesh.

Dave,if i ever get into small font,i swear to God i will post in font 10 times smaller than you (and in colour)...and Yiddish...

Dave, that was pretty cool. Being an artist and all, I can appreciate the graphics, just wish I could do that. I just paint on walls. :)

V.v. There's nothing to figure out. I was lost once, just like the lady I met last night, and I swear, I never want to be like that again. I just look at things differently now, that's all. About growing older and not wanting to be around...perfectly normal. I mean, who wants to get old? Who wants to struggle? Not me!!! That's another reason why I stay fit and eat right, can't hurt. Plus, our minds are what make us old, don't you think?

Don't give up V.v....the answers are everywhere, just look around.

Im working on it.

I personaly believe in Lost souls and negative souls that feed off of our negativity , I work 3rd shift and get home around 2-3 am i crawled into bed with my Fiancee and i was just about to close my eyes when i seen this faceless bein floating above him i blinked my eyes to see if it was just a shadow and it wasn't it lingered above him i knudged him to wake him up and it slowly disappeared , weird things have been happening with my family , my mother woke up one night to get something to drink and she seen 2 upside down crosses above her window that were bleeding outward , she was meditating the other night and she heard a voice plain as day say "I don't like you " ..Can anybody plz give some kind of feed back on this

i don't like you.

I don't like you either. (reference?)

Well now i know you guys don't know shit about this so i'll leave you alone to fuck off sorry iwasted your time !!!!

Carla, don't go, stick around. Sometimes the other's will joke around and you just have to learn how to take them.

...oh, so THATS where i left those crosses.

you see Carla, it's just a game, so go along with it.

I have the death penalty in five systems.

I got a new phone yesterday. nokia 3120. my ring tune is me yelling "Melanie!! Pick up your phone!!" which I think is hilarious.

I'll be careful.

wooo i got the reference

Just for the record, I don't believe in ghosts, demons, angels or any of that supernatural stuff. I'm betting that what the *other* Carla saw was probably some random optic nerve misfiring as she fell asleep. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

"...i was just about to close my eyes when i seen this faceless bein floating above him..." This is called a hypnogogic hallucination. (An illusion seen while going to sleep.) "...my mother woke up one night to get something to drink and she seen 2 upside down crosses above her window..." And this is a hypnopompic hallucination. (An illusion seen while waking up from sleep.) Props to my 84 year old step grandmother for knowing this off the top of her head. :)

my hypnopompic hallucinations are scary as hell and may be the result of temporal lobe epilepsy. i've seen shit that would kill weaker humans.

Do tell...

Hypnogogic hallucination, eh? I can't wait to use that one in casual conversation. We're waiting for the stories, Nate. But spare me the scab-eating kind, OK?

i'll pass. they're all scab-eaters. a girl with a guitar just came to my front door. asked if 'nica' lives here. that's my cat. that kind of freaked me out.

if this is any indication, maybe you just scare easily.

maybe. i think the worst are the flaming elevator shaft hallucinations. the ceiling opens up above me, a long shaft with wooden walls glowing embers, sparks and ash drifting down. then the end of the shaft, the flaming elevator, starts dropping. falling to destroy me. your heart beats so hard you think you're going to die, and the adrenaline will last you the rest of the night. there are more benign ones, too, like myriad cameras focused on the bed. then all you have to ride out is irrational 'were those cameras there when i was jerking off?' paranoia. and some are just darn cute, like the bed full of kittens episode. the girl with the guitar freaked me out on other levels, though. the, 'did she actually exist?' level. the, 'which of my friends are fucking with me?' level.

But what was your answer to the guitar girl? Did she play anything? I don't know what I was dreaming about last night, but when I woke up this morning, the fact that I could simultaneously snuggle up to my girl and reach over her to pet the cat seemed tremendously novel. I think I was inventing things again. In those dreams everything seems possible, fascinating, and new.

For me the worst hypnopompic hallucinations I've ever had were probably related to stomach gas and general anxiety. Until I found out the cause I used to wake up, soon after going to sleep, and be utterly terrified. Sometimes I'd feel like I was running on a giant treadmill, filled with obstacles, and some unspeakable horror was behind me. If I turned to look I'd trip and fall into the horror. Most of the time, though, I just felt like the universe was trying to crush me, like it was a thin film that sealed around me and I was only barely keeping it from ending me. I got so familiar with this feeling that I could wake into it, and after realizing what was happening, explore the sensation of horror carefully. I think this might partly explain why I'm not shocked easily. I eventually figured out that I could avoid it by just not eating anything greasy before going to bed. Go fig.

shit. nothing like that ever happenes to me. my dreams escape me. no hallucinations shy of heavy drugs. god dammit.

I wish my dreams escaped me. It would be nice not to remember them. But when I get nightmares, I get whoppers of nightmares.

i think its critical and healthy to remember your dreams, interpret your dreams as best you can. someone close to me has the ability to wake up almost daily, and recite her dreams one by one, with exquisite detail, intepret them (Jungian archetype) and can glean generally healthy insight of her consciousness by analysing her subconsciousness. of course if you dont subscribe, in the least, to such analysis, then yeah, perhaps its not important to remember your dreams.

My dreams tend to play out like bad movies. Last night I dreamed that I was living in this labrynthine underground place that was inhabited almost exclusively by vaguely humanoid robots. Only they weren't called robots, there was some other name for them that I can't recall. This place has aspects of a mine, an industrial plant, and a half-deserted city. I was not supposed to be there. I kept myself hidden from the few humans who worked there, and while they seemed to know I was somewhere down there, they couldn't find me. The robots don't seem to mind me, though. Then, they do find me. They find me because they are investigating some sort of destruction done to some big machine and a bunch of the robots. They think that I'm the cause of a string of such damaging incidents. They also just want me out of there because they want to seal the place up and let the robots do their thing without any human influence or interference. Somehow I convince them that I'm not behind the destruction, and there's this cheezy scene where we catch a fleeting glimpse of a fleeing figure. So we bring a few robots with us and go back into the deep areas of the place to search for whoever or whatever it was. The rest is hazy. I think we found a bunch of children at one point.

I once had a sex dream about Sailor Saturn that was so vivid and intense that when i woke up, i took down that poster for a few weeks because even thinking about it freaked me out a little. She's only 13! I don't think dreams mean anything, there are too many variables...

I had a dream about a spider last week that caused me to scream and wake sem up and scare the cats away. The interesting thing is that the scary spider part was preceeded by a dream about me wearing the spider around my neck teaching talented little girls to read chapter books.

She whooped like a banshee! Cats were flying everywhere!

poor flying kitties.

Hello, I am what is known as a "Psychic". www.Destinyoflove.com. That is the word they use out here for us that have a keen sense of understanding for the spiritual world. Anyway, I was born that way. I discovered it at age 6 or 7. I am now 33, and here is what I know from experience. First, I have had thousands of spiritual experiences that range from being out-of-body (OBE), astral traveling, to voices telling me the future. I have seen plenty of spirits, and here are the facts: Some are Angels, and they always wear the same outfit. A sort of dress with a rope around the waste. That is how I recognize them from the other spirits. The dress or gown is simple, and has different lengths for their jobs or duties, also colors. The Ghosts, are spirits that linger around the first three realms. The earthbound or "earth copy" realm looks like our own, and they like to stay in the familiar areas they are used to. The second and third realms can get pretty illusionary, and tricky. Many souls find themselves locked in an environment and they are confused. They need a spirit guide to help them to find the "Kingdom" Heaven of the spirits. A Spirit can refer to both angels, demons, and ghosts, because of their makeup. They are all spirit forms. However, a demon, is a fallen angel, and their duties are to cause all living things (human and spirit), havoc and confusion. Yes, they are angry and jealous. They cannot turn back. Once the spirit is completely seperated from the body(silver cord is broken), they can immediately be guided to the Kingdom (4th and 5th realms), where they will receive further instructions and a chance to do it all again, or they can go to the first three realms, where they are sometimes left to think about themselves for a considerable length of time. At any time they can be guided to the Kingdom, but it must be requested by them by asking for help and they must have an understanding where they are and why they were there. Hope this helps. I have seen them all. Some ghosts are mean, and some are just confused. All angels are messengers or have duties to help. And demons are cynical and teasing to your heart, because they know you a little bit. Watch out for those kind!

hey tina. what about the talking teddy bears?

i beliwve in ghosts. one night, there was a crowd of my mates up in a mates house , i was ther too when he took a photo on his camera fone of another mate, in the background, there was a womans face on the picture. my mate had previously said that he had seen strange shadows in his house. this was the week before halloween 2003. a priest blessed the house straight away.

anyone watch u.k soap eastenders. i think they made the biggest mistake in its history by gettin rid of dirty den. he is such a legend and his jackets rule. now who are we stuck with. BADDY BEALE. DEN IS A LEGEND AND SHUD B BROUGHT BAK INTO THE SOAP AS A GHOST.

Yeah, I used to watch Eastenders religiously. Haven't watched it in about 10 years though -- flipped through it a couple of weeks ago, didn't recognize most of the characters, except for Phil, and Dot.

DEN IS A LEGEND. DIRTY DEN WATTS SHOULDBE BROUGHT BACK 2 THE SOAP AS A GHOST

hey

WHAT ABOUT THE TALKING TEDDY BEARS?

aw fuck jack. why you gotta go there?

patrick,jack needs to go there as he is a talking (gay) teddy bear.

,speck he posts with his hand on his hip,most times.

...the other hand twirling a handbag.

...so gay...

I hope I'm brought back to the soap one day.

design your own persona,be what you want to be.

justine

patrick/jack/v. u r all gay

BRING DEN BACK BRING DEN BACK BRING DEN BACK BRING DEN BACK BRING DEN BACK.

HAVE SEX WITH ME AND MY FRIENDS!

can ihave sex viv

Not to change the subject or any thing... but too get back to the subject of spirits, I do believe there is a heaven and there is a hell.. there are Spirits and those spirits can appear to you in any form they choose... meaning they could look like any one who has died in the past. I also believe that people are a spirit they have a soul and they live in a body... but also i believe that there is a Power in words and you have too be carefull of what you say.. couse there is a spirit realm and they do hear what we say and respond too what you say concerning your own life. i think there are alot of things people say soo offten that they start too believe what they are saying and thats when what they are saying has the most power... i think your tounge is like a rudder of a ship, though it is very small it can turn your life around.. <but i think i got off on a side track> as far as Ghosts and alliens i believe they are Deamons sent from saten too people to torment them.. i have never heard a story where a Ghost came too help as much as haunt <correct me if im wrong> they more or less come too bring you Fear. Did you know.. When you laugh, natural killer cells which destroy tumours and viruses increase, along with Gamma-interferon (a disease-fighting protein), T-cells (important for our immune system) and B-cells (which make disease-fighting antibodies). As well as lowering blood pressure, laughter increases oxygen in the blood, which also encourages healing. but being angry and upset all the time dose the opposite. as you probably already nocited i believe that there is But One true God. there are meany "gods" and i believe that He came too give us Life, Life being more then just the state of your body befor you die, but life being full of joy and peace. now i know there are alot of hard times in life... i have been through enough of em too know.. but i think they come, many from our own choises but most from Saten.. but its not about being happy about what your going through or any torment you are faceing. Rather it's about being happy through them.. knowing that your going too come out on the other side of them a better person.. I think if your are being haunted by any spirit you need too look at not only what you are doing.. but look at what is going on in that room and or house on a day-to-day basis, what kind of music what is attracting them... and you need too make a change to make them leave... i dont think angels are here to hurt but too help.. In short i dont think you should worry about seeing alot of ghosts. If you go too Chruch I encourage you too keep going... and try too make a differance in not only your life but in the lives of people around you.. brighten the corner where you are... but it is now 11:30pm (cst) and I must go too bed couse i work in the morning. have a great day... :D

Sorry... got long winded... :P

my blood pressure is 123 over 78. ROCK ON!

Hee hee, mine's better: 110/72. I laugh all the time and I have the immune system of an AIDS patient.

Don't say sad things spider :(

Mines 140/80. I don't understand it.

I'm sorry, Wisper, I meant no offense. I'm just sick *all the time*. I go maybe two days between colds. I'm just getting over a cold now, and what happens but I get a skin infection on my chin that makes my chin and my lower lip swell...and this is after I absent-mindedly scratch myself on the chin while I'm waking up one morning. I wash my hands about once every hour, I sleep well, I take vitamins, I exercise regularly, but I just cannot build up any defenses to any infection that comes my way. It almost makes me despair.

oooer i did a seance and i saw jakle :o well peeps email meh screwed_in_da_brain@hotmail.com

YA YA I BELEIVE IN GHOST,DEMONS,AND EVERY THING ELS

that was alot

...Is v,going to another Witchfest on the 15th,but will post if you want....ask and you get.

Yeah i also believe in ghosts, demons, and all of those types of creepy and eerie creatures. XD

Vamp,what is the most haunted place in America???

talking teddy bears ghosts talking teddy bears spirits talking teddy bears apparitions talking teddy bears teabags talking teddy bears finger puppets talking teddy bears creepy and eerie talking teddy bears

jaq,Get a extorcist!!!

Cleaning out my old room this weekend. I found a little bottle -- actually a baby food jar with a picture of Mary with her Immaculate Heart taped to the side -- of exorcised holy water. This is holy water that has exorcised salt in it. Exorcised salt is salt that has had special blessings said over it, endowing it with the ability to repel demons. Somewhere, possibly in a box in the basement, I have a ziploc bag full of exorcised salt. I really believed in this.

and now you don't? salt, esp sea salt, has great properties to remove negativity. One of the sad things about spending a week on the island this past few days is that the gulf water was too cold to bathe or swim in... as Sarah says, there's power in that water. I am concerned more about ocean acidification than exorcism...

Shortly after I had my final spiritual crisis and could no longer believe in any higher power, I found myself alone in the basement of the archives of the Archdiocese of Boston, sorting through boxes. I heard a strange noise behind me and I instinctively blessed myself, to ward away ghosts. And then I realized, I couldn't make that gesture anymore, because it didn't mean anything. And then I realized, if there is no God, there aren't ghosts, either, so there's nothing to fear. But I cried anyway. My faith was such a major part of my life -- it was the center of my life -- that losing it was like losing a parent.

Well, you are correct in that there is nothing to fear. there are plenty of ghosts in my life, from the typical grays wandering around that few people recognize, to the still living dead who sleep through their lives without noticing the wonder and awe and beauty of it all. And then there is family, and then there is myself. I was a ghost in a large corporation, a ghost writer for sure, but today I meet people (I think they are people) and they turn out to be angels, demons, ghosts, the waking and walking dead and alive, as I have learned to step over the threshold and into other simultaneously existing universes...as a rim walker, it is an interesting existence for me. We are not so much humans yearning for a spiritual experience as we are spirits yearning for a taste of what being human is like. Like--fleeting as it is today--the taste and momentary life of a snowflake resting on my tongue. Do you know Wim Wender's work, german film director and writer? Some good stuff there. In his On Wings of Desire from which the plot line was stolen to form a core of City of Angels...Peter Faulk plays the only English speaking part. Rent it. We are all compadres to one extent or another. Here for a short time, then gone. But damn, is it exquisite or what? There is nothing to fear but there are fearful things. As Albert once said, the only real question is whether you view the world as a harmonious place, conspiring for beauty and harmony and good, or as a shithole full of the bad, ugly, and unfriendly. Or words to that effect.

And now that you have been an empty vessel of faith, have you filled it back up? I prefer faith in myself, not the "I can do no wrong" kind of faith, but the "I'll be fine" or if necessary "I'll get through this" variety. I figure it's the brand of faith that has the most utility and produces the least negative side effects.

My co-workers dog ate his bible, I said I think the dog is trying to tell you something. Luckily the co-worker has a good sense of humour and laughed.

in the book The Last Samurai by Helen DeWit the narrator's father owned a motel, and instead of the Bible, put copies of Darwin's The Origin of Species in the side table drawers. he would get excited whenever someone stole a copy from their motel room.

Angels Over Berlin I have faith that what will happen will happen, or rather, that what is happening is what I am experiencing. Hm, that isn't even true. I don't have faith, i have now. Hah, I have faith in losing things that I never really had. I would like a puppy.

I can totally rate getting a puppy. Since we had reese, my blood pressure is down, I've met some really awesome people (and some weirdo's), whenever I'm sad or upset she does goofy things to make me laugh or gives me smooshes - puppy's rock.

wag more bark less. I really think that i don't need a belief or faith in x-y-z if I have the experience of x-y-z. ergo I have a ferrel cat named Spook Doggy Dog and answers to "doggy" The vet thinks the owner is strange, until I start talking about Doggy's friend the typing goat. I would have to say I have a belief or fatih in heather since i don't have the experience of her. Bummer, but it is what it is. And I like the circus theme of Wim Wender's wonder poetry. Trapeze anyone?

Dogs are nice. My next door neighbor has a giant rottweiler who paces around their yard all day and if he sees me in my yard, he'll put his paws up on the fence and bark forbiddingly at me, but I'm just like, "What? Who's a big scary dog? Is it you? Is it you? Dawwwwwww..." He gets loose sometimes and wanders into my yard, but I've never been properly introduced to him so I'm afraid to make his acquaintance on my own. He might mistakenly include my yard in his understanding of his territory and try to eat me. I want a big scary dog.

Wow, subject/pronoun agreement failure in that first paragraph, yikes.

FATIH YEP

alfatih.org, your neighbor human or dog puts his paws on you? Context is a wonderful thing, as is, spellchick. ...really is not a agreement failure as much as it is a pronominal antecedent failure. agreement has to do with singular or plural while antecedent failure is what you's did. dunno if man or beast or if man is beast or if beast is more manly, aw, you get the idea. contractual /conception error aside or about

my faith transcended reality without me. i've been lost but not uncomfortable for some time now. i guess what i have faith in is my ability to get myself out of trouble. akin to tiggy's faith, i think. then again, i also have a puppy or two. robot apartments. fuck me.