I see (feel, smell, sense, etc.) dead people... (2 Viewers)

[Officer Pete Malloy]

One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines.

I married into a family of these types. Maybe not actively wanting to be labeled, but the women in my wife's family all believe that they possess some special gift.

I'm sorry, dude.

 

[Steve Tasker]

One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines.

I married into a family of these types. Maybe not actively wanting to be labeled, but the women in my wife's family all believe that they possess some special gift.

My mother and grandmother (moreso my grandmother) are the same way. I'm not going to say whether or not they actually are more paranormally-inclined, nor do I know if that even exists, but it has been my experience that people who believe they are special in that way tend to blow their experiences way out of proportion and mistake a normal event as a paranormal one. People believe what they want to believe. Someone who is skeptical or doesn't want to have a paranormal experience will rationalize their experiences. Someone who wants to have a paranormal experience and who has an unexplainable experience will immediately jump to the paranormal conclusion.

 

[Cliff Clavin]

One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines.

I married into a family of these types. Maybe not actively wanting to be labeled, but the women in my wife's family all believe that they possess some special gift.

Yeah, my future MIL is 100% into this garbage. She had a "job" for a while as an online psychic and doing tarot card readings. Always tells me about how wildly accurate horoscopes are.

 

[datonn]

One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines.

I married into a family of these types. Maybe not actively wanting to be labeled, but the women in my wife's family all believe that they possess some special gift.

Yeah, my future MIL is 100% into this garbage. She had a "job" for a while as an online psychic and doing tarot card readings. Always tells me about how wildly accurate horoscopes are.

Online psychics, tarot card readings, and horoscopes being garbage. FINALLY something we can agree upon in this thread.

 

[Steve Tasker]

One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines.

I married into a family of these types. Maybe not actively wanting to be labeled, but the women in my wife's family all believe that they possess some special gift.

Yeah, my future MIL is 100% into this garbage. She had a "job" for a while as an online psychic and doing tarot card readings. Always tells me about how wildly accurate horoscopes are.

Online psychics, tarot card readings, and horoscopes being garbage. FINALLY something we can agree upon in this thread.

How do you feel about "real" psychics (I use the term "real" very loosely). Not necessarily John Edward/James Van Praagh cold-reading famous types, but your standard run-of-the-mill real-life claimed psychic?

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines.

I married into a family of these types. Maybe not actively wanting to be labeled, but the women in my wife's family all believe that they possess some special gift.

Yeah, my future MIL is 100% into this garbage. She had a "job" for a while as an online psychic and doing tarot card readings. Always tells me about how wildly accurate horoscopes are.

Online psychics, tarot card readings, and horoscopes being garbage. FINALLY something we can agree upon in this thread.

How can you discount those people yet expect us to believe that the ghost of Bob Beamon threw you over a boulder?

 

[honky kong]

One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines.

I married into a family of these types. Maybe not actively wanting to be labeled, but the women in my wife's family all believe that they possess some special gift.

Yeah, my future MIL is 100% into this garbage. She had a "job" for a while as an online psychic and doing tarot card readings. Always tells me about how wildly accurate horoscopes are.

Online psychics, tarot card readings, and horoscopes being garbage. FINALLY something we can agree upon in this thread.

How can you discount those people yet expect us to believe that the ghost of Bob Beamon threw you over a boulder?

Because those people are crazy! Amirite?

 

[datonn]

Datonn>

Just a few things.

Do you think it's just a coincidence that these levitation/floating experiences have always seemed to happen to you and your family members when you're a child? This was probably mentioned in here, but this thread goes back so far that I can't recall. As we get older, our memories become skewed a bit, and it's no secret that children have overactive imaginations. I had a number of ghostly experiences when I was a kid that terrified or intrigued me. As I've gotten older, my natural skepticism has kicked in and I've really questioned what ACTUALLY happened.

Second, and this isn't a criticism of you but more of a comment about people in general, people want to feel special. One thing I've seen over the years is that people actively want to be labeled as "in-tune with the spirit world" or something along those lines. They want to be able to see and experience things others can't. And I honestly believe that many people buy into the "I'm special" mentality so much that their experiences are fueled by this, so to speak. I'm having trouble articulating this. What I'm saying is - I believe that if someone believes that they have paranormal capabilities that others don't, they are more inclined to believe that a normal everyday occurrence is a paranormal event. Your recent posts about your family members having similar paranormal capabilities brought this to mind for me. Maybe this applies to you and maybe it doesn't, but I really think you need to take back and examine some of your experiences through a more skeptical lens.

I realize I'm the only person who is taking your posts "seriously", but I am genuinely interested in this stuff. Always have been. But I come from the extremely skeptical camp, as you know.

Hey ST. On your first point, I don't think it's a coincidence at all...the fact that people are experiencing (or CLAIMING to experience) things as a child. Partially because I too believe that people have an over-active imagination and "creative memory," for lack of a better way of putting it. And partially because kids don't have the "natural skepticism" that you refer to hard-wired into their brains just yet, like we do. AKA We KNOW we can't do it, so we don't even try...and even if we did try, we wouldn't believe it would work anyway. Kids don't know they can't...so they'll try. Sincerely try. So who knows?As to floating/levitation though...I can't speak for my father or SIL. But for me? It wasn't either of those things...at least how I would define those terms. I remember standing on one rock and leaping to the other. Floating, to me, implies a slow, gradual movement from one place to another. Levitation, to me, would be my feet simply rising up off the first rock I had been standing on...where I wasn't standing on anything. No...mine was more of a "standing long jump." A standing long jump three-times farther than I could even do today.

On your second point, again, I 100% agree. I think a lot of people desperately want to have experiences, and/or want the attention stories get from others, via having (or claiming) experiences. I guess for me, I didn't really talk about it with anybody until I got into my 20s. Partially because I honestly worried that I *WAS* crazy! But mostly because I didn't want other people thinking I was crazy. When stories started coming out...be it in my Dad's books (pre-bipolar) or trying to pry stories out of my grandmother that she did not want to discuss, it wasn't :lhucks: for me, a la (LOOK AT ME!!!! Hey, me too!!! Over here, everybody! datonn has something important to say!) It was RELIEF. AKA "I'm not alone." and "Hey, maybe I'm NOT cuckoo for cocoa puffs after all?!" Having experiences like this is a curse and a burden, for the most part, IMHO. Because you feel crazy and/or as though people will judge you negatively if you open up and tell a few stories.

This is "just" the FFA...so I couldn't give a rat's ### what people think of me here. And my family? We've all talked about things more after the stories started coming out and a few others felt comfortable enough to share their experiences. But it's still something I wouldn't ever bring up with your average person in conversation. Because as soon as you do...you're patted on the head, with a few Good Samaritans even taking it upon themselves to call up the nearest mental health facility on your behalf.

Also, FWIW (for the lurkers/haters), I did delve into this exact topic with one of the counselors I had been seeing for a while. My standing joke with him every week was asking what I needed to do/say to have him send me to St. Peter (mental health facility)...since they had a disc golf course right on their grounds! LOL. I asked him what his take on the whole "paranormal" genre of topics is. He said he thinks most of it with most people is (over-)active imagination...but that he himself has personally had some powerful experiences that even he had no easy, logical, "rational" explanation for. He says that since his own experiences, he believes that the world is bigger than only what we can see/hear/smell/touch/taste. And that as a professional? He would certainly not rule out the existence of ghosts, the ability to see/sense certain scenes or "energy imprints," etc. Darnit though...I told him I wanted a vacation from work and to wear pajamas all day, except when I was catching 18-36 holes! But he said he'd have needed to lie and violate a few oaths for me to be labeled with any type of "mental illness." Good news on not being crazy! Bad news for my disc golf game, lol.

 

[honky kong]

Pound for pound, I'd put this thread up against any other for the use of .

 

[datonn]

How do you feel about "real" psychics (I use the term "real" very loosely). Not necessarily John Edward/James Van Praagh cold-reading famous types, but your standard run-of-the-mill real-life claimed psychic?

Personally, I think most of it is junk. That said, I have met one woman (wife of a contractor we used) who I think is "legit," who FREAKED my wife out after basically coming into our home cold and telling her she could see/feel/sense all the same things (specific things...right down to physical locations in the home, names, scenes, dates, etc.) that I was sensing. Didn't tell her anything other than "we're having some interesting experiences in our home...and wondering if you'd come over and walk around," since we knew she was kind of into this stuff. Almost as evidence for my wife to buy herself a "I'm with crazy!" t-shirt to wear around me, lol. Only she went from skeptic to to in about 45 minutes when she was hearing the SAME stuff from someone who I had never said anything to before. My wife still won't go into one area of our basement alone...years later. And last Winter, when that same woman came over to tell her husband something on a project he was helping us with, she refused to go in that part of the basement too (after saying she was threatened physically and swore at like George Carlin by Mr. Mason).Most people who claim psychic ability are kind of like this:

Who, as you say, want attention or want to feel "special." But I think the people out there (much fewer in number) who actually have "real" ability don't generally advertise that fact. Because of how people will treat them...or not having the time to participate in an 800-post thread beating back the 15-20 people who think they are loony tunes. One obvious clue too: if people are doing it for money or any other type of personal gain? FRAUD....cough-cough.

 

[Steve Tasker]

How do you feel about "real" psychics (I use the term "real" very loosely). Not necessarily John Edward/James Van Praagh cold-reading famous types, but your standard run-of-the-mill real-life claimed psychic?

Personally, I think most of it is junk. That said, I have met one woman (wife of a contractor we used) who I think is "legit," who FREAKED my wife out after basically coming into our home cold and telling her she could see/feel/sense all the same things (specific things...right down to physical locations in the home, names, scenes, dates, etc.) that I was sensing. Didn't tell her anything other than "we're having some interesting experiences in our home...and wondering if you'd come over and walk around," since we knew she was kind of into this stuff. Almost as evidence for my wife to buy herself a "I'm with crazy!" t-shirt to wear around me, lol. Only she went from skeptic to to in about 45 minutes when she was hearing the SAME stuff from someone who I had never said anything to before. My wife still won't go into one area of our basement alone...years later. And last Winter, when that same woman came over to tell her husband something on a project he was helping us with, she refused to go in that part of the basement too (after saying she was threatened physically and swore at like George Carlin by Mr. Mason).Most people who claim psychic ability are kind of like this:

So, to follow-up on my question.....my personal belief is that most of it is junk - as you said. But I think that many claimed psychics, while they're full of ####, so to speak, really genuinely believe they have psychic power. Would you agree with that? Almost like they are blinded by their own delusions and are perhaps unable to realize that they're "not special", for lack of a better term.

 

[datonn]

So, to follow-up on my question.....my personal belief is that most of it is junk - as you said. But I think that many claimed psychics, while they're full of ####, so to speak, really genuinely believe they have psychic power. Would you agree with that? Almost like they are blinded by their own delusions and are perhaps unable to realize that they're "not special", for lack of a better term.

Many claimed psychics...yes. Agreed. Absolutely. They have a "vision" or ??? that the Sun will rise in the East tomorrow, and that taxes will be due on April 15. And WOW, they were right! They must be psychic. Many others, I think, know they are frauds. But as long as your check doesn't bounce or your credit card isn't refused, they're perfectly happy letting you pay them to hear that they're sensing a woman's name in your family that starts with the letter M. The same types of snakes who will create and broadcast a narrative on Obama being a fascist/socialist/communist and comparing him to Hitler. Millions of "sheep" out there...just waiting to be sheared (or eaten). And people without morals/a conscious/souls are herding them in...

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Pound for pound, I'd put this thread up against any other for the use of .

It's definitely Snogger approved.

 

[Steve Tasker]

So, to follow-up on my question.....my personal belief is that most of it is junk - as you said. But I think that many claimed psychics, while they're full of ####, so to speak, really genuinely believe they have psychic power. Would you agree with that? Almost like they are blinded by their own delusions and are perhaps unable to realize that they're "not special", for lack of a better term.

Many claimed psychics...yes. Agreed. Absolutely. They have a "vision" or ??? that the Sun will rise in the East tomorrow, and that taxes will be due on April 15. And WOW, they were right! They must be psychic. Many others, I think, know they are frauds. But as long as your check doesn't bounce or your credit card isn't refused, they're perfectly happy letting you pay them to hear that they're sensing a woman's name in your family that starts with the letter M. The same types of snakes who will create and broadcast a narrative on Obama being a fascist/socialist/communist and comparing him to Hitler. Millions of "sheep" out there...just waiting to be sheared (or eaten). And people without morals/a conscious/souls are herding them in...

I realize these are leading questions, but if you agree that perhaps some claimed psychics (1) genuinely believe they have paranormal abilities yet (2) don't actually have paranormal abilities, would you concede that there's a chance you may fall into the same scenario? I have no doubt that you're genuine and that you really believe your stories, and I'm not here to tell you you're wrong. I like hearing the stories.But while I can look at some psychics and come to the conclusion above, I read your posts and come to the same conclusion. Maybe you have experienced all of these wild paranormal experiences. Maybe you are "in-tune with the spirit world" or whatever you want to call it. But maybe you're just overreacting; maybe you believe you're paranormally-inclined but you're really just overreacting to normal life experiences (or possibly hallucinating, as some posters have indicated).

Again, not knocking you....just posting a theory.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

The common link among psychics, levitating people, etc. is that, once they are put in a controlled environment, they are suddenly stunningly mortal. Kind of like

.James Randi has been sitting on that million for a long time now. Someone should take it.

 

[Steve Tasker]

James Randi has been sitting on that million for a long time now. Someone should take it.

big fan

 

[datonn]

I realize these are leading questions, but if you agree that perhaps some claimed psychics (1) genuinely believe they have paranormal abilities yet (2) don't actually have paranormal abilities, would you concede that there's a chance you may fall into the same scenario? I have no doubt that you're genuine and that you really believe your stories, and I'm not here to tell you you're wrong. I like hearing the stories.But while I can look at some psychics and come to the conclusion above, I read your posts and come to the same conclusion. Maybe you have experienced all of these wild paranormal experiences. Maybe you are "in-tune with the spirit world" or whatever you want to call it. But maybe you're just overreacting; maybe you believe you're paranormally-inclined but you're really just overreacting to normal life experiences (or possibly hallucinating, as some posters have indicated).Again, not knocking you....just posting a theory.

Sure, I get it. Though regardless of your opinions on anything I've posted over the course of the thread, I think we could agree on at least a few things:1. I've never claimed to be a psychic. Which is why I SO loved one clown asking me to try and guess how many fingers he was holding up so many pages ago. Wonder if he could guess the one finger I was holding up in response? Psychic! LOL.2. I've got NOTHING to gain (personally/financially) from sharing any of the stories I've shared...and in fact probably have quite a bit more to lose (related to public perception).To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime. Just a round number, nothing more. Of those "100" experiences that maybe initially scared/startled me or made me go "hmm...", maybe 80 of them either immediately or eventually hit the recycle bin. I was tired, could have been shadows from a passing car, et al. Normal stuff. The stuff EVERYBODY thinks goes bump in the night when it's really just over-active imagination. Of the "20" experiences that would be left? Maybe 15 are ones that I could come up with plausible things that I think your garden variety skeptic could EASILY cite. I probably don't believe they're right...but I 100% get the skepticism. So "5" left. Of those five, I'd go to my grave insisting that they were completely legit/true. No shadow of a doubt in my mind. And 1-2 of those five? Scare/scar the ba-jeebus out of me.And the whole "standing long jump" that everyone seems to pick on, amongst ALL the other stuff I've shared? One of the "15," if you were to use the previous definition/clarification above. I believe it happened. Can I see why 99.9% of people think I'm wacko? Yep. But I still believe it happened.

 

[Raider Nation]

I realize these are leading questions, but if you agree that perhaps some claimed psychics (1) genuinely believe they have paranormal abilities yet (2) don't actually have paranormal abilities, would you concede that there's a chance you may fall into the same scenario? I have no doubt that you're genuine and that you really believe your stories, and I'm not here to tell you you're wrong. I like hearing the stories.But while I can look at some psychics and come to the conclusion above, I read your posts and come to the same conclusion. Maybe you have experienced all of these wild paranormal experiences. Maybe you are "in-tune with the spirit world" or whatever you want to call it. But maybe you're just overreacting; maybe you believe you're paranormally-inclined but you're really just overreacting to normal life experiences (or possibly hallucinating, as some posters have indicated).Again, not knocking you....just posting a theory.

Sure, I get it. Though regardless of your opinions on anything I've posted over the course of the thread, I think we could agree on at least a few things:1. I've never claimed to be a psychic. Which is why I SO loved one clown asking me to try and guess how many fingers he was holding up so many pages ago. Wonder if he could guess the one finger I was holding up in response? LOL.2. I've got NOTHING to gain (personally/financially) from sharing any of the stories I've shared...and in fact probably have quite a bit more to lose (related to public perception).To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime. Just a round number, nothing more. Of those "100" experiences that maybe initially scared/startled me or made me go "hmm...", maybe 80 of them either immediately or eventually hit the recycle bin. I was tired, could have been shadows from a passing car, et al. Normal stuff. The stuff EVERYBODY thinks goes bump in the night when it's really just over-active imagination. Of the "20" experiences that would be left? Maybe 15 are ones that I could come up with plausible things that I think your garden variety skeptic could EASILY cite. I probably don't believe they're right...but I 100% get the skepticism. So "5" left. Of those five, I'd go to my grave insisting that they were completely legit/true. No shadow of a doubt in my mind. And 1-2 of those five? Scare/scar the ba-jeebus out of me.And the whole "standing long jump" that everyone seems to pick on, amongst ALL the other stuff I've shared? One of the "15," if you were to use the previous definition/clarification above.

I'm confused. There are no randomly bolded words in this post.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime.

Once again...and no offense...but pretty sure this means you're crazy.

 

[datonn]

To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime.

Once again...and no offense...but pretty sure this means you're crazy.

Percentages...Einstein. 100 wasn't a real number. But it's Saturday night, and who knows? Maybe you're a Packer fan, pounding back that 16th Miller Lite.

 

[Raider Nation]

To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime.

Once again...and no offense...but pretty sure this means you're crazy.

Why would he possibly be offended by that?

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime.

Once again...and no offense...but pretty sure this means you're crazy.

Percentages...Einstein. 100 wasn't a real number. But it's Saturday night, and who knows? Maybe you're a Packer fan, pounding back that 16th Miller Lite.

Pretty sure that me after 16 beers still has a greater grasp on reality than you totally sober.

 

[strykerpks]

To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime.

Once again...and no offense...but pretty sure this means you're crazy.

Percentages...Einstein. 100 wasn't a real number. But it's Saturday night, and who knows? Maybe you're a Packer fan, pounding back that 16th Miller Lite.

You got a problem with that?

 

[datonn]

Pretty sure that me after 16 beers still has a greater grasp on reality than you totally sober.

Alright...try me. Define reality. I know what Webster says: 1 : the quality or state of being real

2

a (1) : a real event, entity, or state of affairs <his dream became a reality> (2) : the totality of real things and events <trying to escape from reality>

b : something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily

3

: television programming that features videos of actual occurrences (as a police chase, stunt, or natural disaster) —often used attributively <reality TV>

What say ye? Define reality. In your own words.

 

[datonn]

To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime.

Once again...and no offense...but pretty sure this means you're crazy.

Percentages...Einstein. 100 wasn't a real number. But it's Saturday night, and who knows? Maybe you're a Packer fan, pounding back that 16th Miller Lite.

You got a problem with that?

Nope. No problem with it at all. Especially tonight...[/skol]

 

[(HULK)]

Datonn, have you ever been to a psychologist for diagnosis? These kind of visions/levitating delusions are common with certain mental illnesses. I strongly suggest you seek help.

The part he conveniently leaves out is how much mental illness is a large part of his family history. He has posted numerous times about his dad being able to levitate and things like that but there's more to the story than that. I took a lot of interest in this thread when I first read it but seeing his stubbornness to admit the things he's posting are impossible makes you wonder how many screws he got loose. You seem like a good guy in other threads Datonn so I don't want you to feel like I'm attacking you. Didn't you believe something was standing down the road running at you? It basically chased you up your driveway almost into your house and then just magically flew over your head? Come on brohan

I got a story from childhood that sounds like one of yours Datonn. I was in a friends back yard as a kid, about 10 years old. He had a small amount of woods, less than 50 sq yards. There were no other woods around, just more houses, roads, retail stores etc. One day in the woods I saw what I thought was huge bear 5 ft from me. I ran the second I saw it and never looked back. I told my parents, they doubted me, I watched the news everyday for 2 weeks and told my parents to read the papers for news about bears. Nothing. Whatever I saw wasn't a bear, no chance, my idiot child brain decided it was bear but there's no chance it was. I lived in that neighborhood my entire life and I've never even seen a deer let alone a bear. Now that I'm an adult, with an adult brain I can rationally realize that it was not a bear.

If somebody had a video of you doing your amazing 25 ft jump that showed you skipping on the ground in between the rocks you still wouldn't believe it. It could be proven wrong and in your head you'd still believe it.

I don't feel attacked. But the part *you* conveniently leave out of the story is that while, yes, my father is severe bipolar and my sister shows tendencies of it (though my ex-BIL running out on her for a younger/newer model right after they had two kids and she needed several surgeries didn't help her mental state), is that I've been to see a counselor. Two, in fact (in addition to marriage counseling). I've also been to Mayo Clinic and other places for several tests due some severe headaches after a mishandled concussion when I was 21. The verdict? I've got a large venus angioma between the two hemispheres of my brain which makes me 3-4+ times more likely to die from an aneurysm than your Average Joe (and that would potentially kill me to try and remove/repair), and I'll probably have something like migraines (though Mayo says they are different from migraines) for the rest of my life. But apart from that, my physical/mental health is stronger than most people my age. With an IQ around the top 1% of people tested. With the only "mental illness" being my being exhausted from being a workaholic...as well as holding in a little TOO much anger/frustration from an underwhelming marriage.So with that in mind...if your brother (fictitious) is an alcoholic who abuses the occasional cocaine...should I tell people that you shouldn't be allowed to drink or be around any white powdery substances, because it runs in your family? That you shouldn't be allowed around a bar, much less behind the wheel of a vehicle after 6pm or any social situations? Just curious.

I would LOVE it if someone had video of that event from my childhood. It would be great to see the memories I've held for ~35 years put up against recorded footage of the event. I know what I remember...and I can still walk to the "scene of the crime" outside my Dad's place if I've got six hours in the car to kill. I wish I had video of every strange/awesome/scary experience I've ever had. As it's not about having pre-determined "truth" and then seeking facts to fit the narrative. Copyright: Fox News. It is about the pursuit of truth...period.

I've had numerous experiences I cannot explain. I'm mentally healthy as an ox. And I'm not gullible...a la hearing a radiator clang and immediately thinking "gha-gha-GHOST." I've been around the block enough times to know what's usual/normal and what isn't. 99% of stuff that people THINK they experience can be debunked or explained away in a couple of seconds. It's the 1% of stuff that is interesting.

I think something is wrong physically. Maybe you're not getting enough oxygen to certain parts of your brain. Wether you want to admit it or not, these are hallucinations. They are not real. I strongly advise you to go back to the doctors @ Mayo and tell them about all of this. It is critically important for the correct diagnosis to have all of details. I'm am legitimately worried for your health and wellbeing right now.

Bump. Go back to the doctors and tell them you hallucinate, today. Do it.

 

[jhib]

So let me get this straight. Your dad told you that he used to be able to do something absolutely remarkable, and that he still could do it if it didn't take so much energy. This would suggest that he had some reasonable measure of control over it. By your previous experience, it sounds like you might have some hereditary potential for some amazing ability. Did you ask your dad to teach you to harness this power? Because right now you sound like you were Luke living right there with Yoda and never bothering to ask him to teach you. Or maybe Harry talking to the snake and unwittingly letting it out with his mind but never bothering to go to Hogwarts.

I know you're just , but I'll take the bait anyway. Maybe it'll help.The back story is that my Dad probably spent all of ~40 hours (that he didn't have to) with me as a child. He was around, under the same roof...but as he put it to my mom, with full knowledge of knowing I could hear him say it: "I've gotta deal with kids all day, the last thing I want to do is deal with kids all night or on the weekend." So apart from him yelling at me for missing curfew by five minutes or bringing an A- home on the report card maybe 3-4 times, total, between 9th and 12th grade), the only time I'd see him would be a maximum of one meal/day. Or if he had to be stuck with me in a car driving me somewhere if my Mom wasn't available. Basically, my Dad is the spoiler alert for the movie A Beautiful Mind. Award-winning teacher, brilliant. Changed his field for the better (at least regionally). Until his mind eventually decided to go on semi-permanent vacation.

I left home at 18, and I only went back on Thanksgiving and Christmas because our campus housing was closed and I would have been homeless. Never lived at home again apart from those several days I was forced out. Talk to my mom about 4-5 times/week! But my dad? I'm not sure if he and I have talked more than ten hours since I graduated college (19 years ago). The only reason this subject came up in conversation at all one is because he is BIG into genealogy...and there are a ton of stories from my great-grandmother and my grandmother's younger brother that he wrote in one of his books (before the bipolar reared its ugly head). Stories which made me feel NOT crazy (for some of the experiences I had as a child). i.e. My great-grandmother was nearly run out of their church (the church I grew up in) after being accused of witchcraft. As she would "see" things that were about to happen, with uncanny frequency and accuracy. To the point where local police would call her during missing person cases...or to help locate a body if a swimmer/boater went missing in a lake/river. And from miles away, she'd tell them exactly where to find the unfortunate people. A person she had never met. In a place she had never visited.

So long story short, my Dad was never a Dad/Father. He provided half the ingredients to make the soup that is me! But other than giving me a roof and making sure my mom had enough to buy us groceries, that was about the extent of it. So you wonder why I never asked him to tell/teach me more when I was a kid? Because he and I never talked. And I never knew about all the other stories until I was well into my 20s (stories which my grandmother and other relatives also shared/acknowledged, but HATED to talk about...for the same reason as 3-4 people in this thread basically calling up psych wards on my behalf). And by then? Between my Dad's suicide attempt (the week before my wedding), my MIL's leukemia and passing, my niece's attempted suicide, my losing a cousin (CLOSE family) to a drunk driver, my parents divorce, me losing both my grandparents who filled in for "dad" as a child, etc., he was the absolute last person I'd want to spend any more time with than absolutely necessary.

Help?

Only a little. I wasn't fishing. I was just trying to put myself in your shoes and wondered why you didn't do one big thing that I think I would have done. I think if I had any kind of respect for the man, then since I was already having some kind of conversation with him at the time, I would ask him how he controlled the levitation thing so that I could give it a shot. However, if he was this person that you've painted him to be where I would not want to spend any more time with him than I had to, then I would think I would put very, very little stock into something he told me. Certainly not enough stock in it that I would use it as some kind of proof that what happened to me was real.It just sounds like the only reason you put stock into what he said at that point is that it was something part of you really wanted to hear.

 

[datonn]

I think something is wrong physically. Maybe you're not getting enough oxygen to certain parts of your brain. Wether you want to admit it or not, these are hallucinations. They are not real. I strongly advise you to go back to the doctors @ Mayo and tell them about all of this. It is critically important for the correct diagnosis to have all of details. I'm am legitimately worried for your health and wellbeing right now.

Bump. Go back to the doctors and tell them you hallucinate, today. Do it.

I think you're being awfully close-minded, HULK. Your heart's probably in the right place! But if Mayo Clinic (and all their gamut of tests/exams) and two counselors can find absolutely nothing physically/mentally wrong with me (other than that venus angioma, or a lot of headaches which are due to a combination of a mistreated concussion 20 years ago and working in a pressure cooker 12-14 hours/day), I guess I'd be crazy NOT to put my stock in what they have to say over an anonymous individual in a FFL discussion forum. Particularly since in both cases (Mayo and counselors), I told them many of the same experiences I've shared in this thread. In far more detail. Joking with them about whether I could get that all-expenses paid trip to St. Peter in the process...so I could get my disc golf player rating up 20-30 points by being able to play every day instead of work. It's a little frustrating that you (and/or others) think I'm just some guy who watched Ghost Hunters on the SciFi Channel over Halloween and/or saw a TV commercial for Miss Cleo...and have subsequently convinced myself that our house creaking and cracking when it's sub-zero outside = ghosts. I understand it. It's just insulting.

 

[(HULK)]

I think something is wrong physically. Maybe you're not getting enough oxygen to certain parts of your brain. Wether you want to admit it or not, these are hallucinations. They are not real. I strongly advise you to go back to the doctors @ Mayo and tell them about all of this. It is critically important for the correct diagnosis to have all of details. I'm am legitimately worried for your health and wellbeing right now.

Bump. Go back to the doctors and tell them you hallucinate, today. Do it.

I think you're being awfully close-minded, HULK. Your heart's probably in the right place! But if Mayo Clinic (and all their gamut of tests/exams) and two counselors can find absolutely nothing physically/mentally wrong with me (other than that venus angioma, or a lot of headaches which are due to a combination of a mistreated concussion 20 years ago and working in a pressure cooker 12-14 hours/day), I guess I'd be crazy NOT to put my stock in what they have to say over an anonymous individual in a FFL discussion forum. Particularly since in both cases (Mayo and counselors), I told them many of the same experiences I've shared in this thread. In far more detail. Joking with them about whether I could get that all-expenses paid trip to St. Peter in the process...so I could get my disc golf player rating up 20-30 points by being able to play every day instead of work. It's a little frustrating that you (and/or others) think I'm just some guy who watched Ghost Hunters on the SciFi Channel over Halloween and/or saw a TV commercial for Miss Cleo...and have subsequently convinced myself that our house creaking and cracking when it's sub-zero outside = ghosts. I understand it. It's just insulting.

as long as you told the doctors about you seeing ghosts I feel better about your health. I still don't believe in ghosts and think that you are hallucinating. Barring iron class proof, my mind won't change on that topic. That is not meant to be insulting in the slightest.

 

[(HULK)]

Fwiw,I don't believe in any God (s), aliens, ghosts, leprechauns, big foot, loch ness monsters, etc. I am a skeptic and need proof to believe extraordinary claims.

 

[datonn]

Fwiw,I don't believe in any God (s), aliens, ghosts, leprechauns, big foot, loch ness monsters, etc. I am a skeptic and need proof to believe extraordinary claims.

I believe in a Creator ("God")...though I believe it was an advanced race/species from "parts unknown" who seeded Earth a la panspermia, rather than one being with gray hair and a beard (with white skin...at least how "he's" depicted in Europe and North America) sitting on some cloud. So that obviously tells you where I land on the "aliens" question too. Just too many galaxies, stars, planets, and habitable moons (if you count extremophiles) for us to be it in the galaxy/universe. Our solar system? Maybe we're it...but I still doubt it. I'm not talking little green men who speak with funny English accents! But bacterial life and other "simple" forms of life? Pretty hard to believe that Earth is it. Crazy to think that, in fact.Ghosts? Real. Zero doubt in my mind. Unless you subscribe to the troll theory put forth by Raider Nation. Leprechauns? Hella-fake. Big foot? I need proof to believe...but I think it's possible. Loch Ness? A quick, deliberate, military-grade sonar scan of that entire body of water would probably put the issue to rest once and for all. But I think nobody there wants to do it, because if they do and find nothing (likely), then that area loses out on a ton of attention and tourism dollars. So the legend is more valuable to that community than the truth. And the "right" people with the "right" equipment and the funding to walk the talk won't ever do what they need to do to put the issue to bed once and for all. Unless they actually thought they would find something...which most/all the "right people" do not.

 

[shadyridr]

I believe in aliens. Its kind of arrogant to believe we are the only beings out there with the universe being so big. I dont necessarily believe aliens have made contact with earth. Ghosts onthe other hand. Gtfo

 

[Steve Tasker]

I realize these are leading questions, but if you agree that perhaps some claimed psychics (1) genuinely believe they have paranormal abilities yet (2) don't actually have paranormal abilities, would you concede that there's a chance you may fall into the same scenario? I have no doubt that you're genuine and that you really believe your stories, and I'm not here to tell you you're wrong. I like hearing the stories.But while I can look at some psychics and come to the conclusion above, I read your posts and come to the same conclusion. Maybe you have experienced all of these wild paranormal experiences. Maybe you are "in-tune with the spirit world" or whatever you want to call it. But maybe you're just overreacting; maybe you believe you're paranormally-inclined but you're really just overreacting to normal life experiences (or possibly hallucinating, as some posters have indicated).Again, not knocking you....just posting a theory.

Sure, I get it. Though regardless of your opinions on anything I've posted over the course of the thread, I think we could agree on at least a few things:1. I've never claimed to be a psychic. Which is why I SO loved one clown asking me to try and guess how many fingers he was holding up so many pages ago. Wonder if he could guess the one finger I was holding up in response? Psychic! LOL.2. I've got NOTHING to gain (personally/financially) from sharing any of the stories I've shared...and in fact probably have quite a bit more to lose (related to public perception).To put it in the context of numbers...let's say that I've had 100 experiences in my lifetime. Just a round number, nothing more. Of those "100" experiences that maybe initially scared/startled me or made me go "hmm...", maybe 80 of them either immediately or eventually hit the recycle bin. I was tired, could have been shadows from a passing car, et al. Normal stuff. The stuff EVERYBODY thinks goes bump in the night when it's really just over-active imagination. Of the "20" experiences that would be left? Maybe 15 are ones that I could come up with plausible things that I think your garden variety skeptic could EASILY cite. I probably don't believe they're right...but I 100% get the skepticism. So "5" left. Of those five, I'd go to my grave insisting that they were completely legit/true. No shadow of a doubt in my mind. And 1-2 of those five? Scare/scar the ba-jeebus out of me.And the whole "standing long jump" that everyone seems to pick on, amongst ALL the other stuff I've shared? One of the "15," if you were to use the previous definition/clarification above. I believe it happened. Can I see why 99.9% of people think I'm wacko? Yep. But I still believe it happened.

First, I hope you don't take my responses to be insulting, that's not my intent at all.I agree with your two points. I was using the psychic point as a paranormal similarity. While you don't believe you have psychic capabilities, you do seem to believe that you are inclined to have ghostly experiences moreso than the average person. We'll call it "paranormal-inclined". I'm not saying you're definitively wrong; I have no idea. But my only point is that there is at least a possibility that some of your experiences may be blown a bit out of proportion because of your belief that you are somewhat paranormal-inclined.There are some things in life that happen that are unexplained, without a doubt. And maybe some of them are paranormal (which is what keeps me interested).I realize you're not trying to convince anyone here that your experiences are paranormal, but the way you describe them often sounds parallel to some "psychic-inclined" people. The person genuinely believes that they have psychic capabilites, and genuinely believes that a certain experience is a paranormal experience - but in reality, my belief is that it's often not a paranormal experience. I read some of your stories here and there in the same light - you genuinely believe they're paranormal experiences, but in reality there's a good chance that they're not.

 

[SacramentoBob]

James Randi has been sitting on that million for a long time now. Someone should take it.

He's going to be buried with it.

 

[(HULK)]

I believe in aliens. Its kind of arrogant to believe we are the only beings out there with the universe being so big. I dont necessarily believe aliens have made contact with earth. Ghosts onthe other hand. Gtfo

Just to clarify on aliens... I think its likely that there is other life out there in the vastness of space. I just think that people who insist that aliens are secretly visiting earth and its a conspiracy cover up... they're out of their minds imo.

 

[datonn]

First, I hope you don't take my responses to be insulting, that's not my intent at all.I agree with your two points. I was using the psychic point as a paranormal similarity. While you don't believe you have psychic capabilities, you do seem to believe that you are inclined to have ghostly experiences moreso than the average person. We'll call it "paranormal-inclined". I'm not saying you're definitively wrong; I have no idea. But my only point is that there is at least a possibility that some of your experiences may be blown a bit out of proportion because of your belief that you are somewhat paranormal-inclined.There are some things in life that happen that are unexplained, without a doubt. And maybe some of them are paranormal (which is what keeps me interested).I realize you're not trying to convince anyone here that your experiences are paranormal, but the way you describe them often sounds parallel to some "psychic-inclined" people. The person genuinely believes that they have psychic capabilites, and genuinely believes that a certain experience is a paranormal experience - but in reality, my belief is that it's often not a paranormal experience. I read some of your stories here and there in the same light - you genuinely believe they're paranormal experiences, but in reality there's a good chance that they're not.

Fair enough. For what it's worth too, I haven't had any of what you/I might define as "paranormal experiences" in years. Other than one strange incident that happened while working out on our disc golf course in our town last Summer...but I could think of a half-dozen things that might explain that experience away (a "15%er"). Those "5%" or "1-2%" types of experiences I was discussing a few posts earlier? Last one was years ago. Been a long time (for me)...which suits me just fine. Boring and ordinary/explainable is A-OK by me.

 

[SacramentoBob]

James Randi vs Uri Gellerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9w7jHYriFo"Keep stroking your piece more"

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

Randi rules.

 

[Frostillicus]

hella-fake?

 

[datonn]

hella-fake?

I was channeling South Park when I typed that (
). So sue me.

 

[Frostillicus]

hella-fake?

I was channeling South Park when I typed that

That doesn't make it ok.

 

[T Bell]

James Randi has been sitting on that million for a long time now. Someone should take it.

He's going to be buried with it.

...forever to wander the earth in the afterlife looking for someone to give that $1M to.

 

[zed2283]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

 

[shadyridr]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

ok

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

OMG

 

[Leroy Hoard]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

ok

so that's how it works - dead next of kin is used as a one time grim reaper.

 

[Psychopav]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

Sorry. If it isn't measurable and repeatable it didn't happen.Truth is only truth if we can control it.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

ok

so that's how it works - dead next of kin is used as a one time grim reaper.

Wonder who will get sent back for me? Probably my uncle. He was a ####.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

ok

so that's how it works - dead next of kin is used as a one time grim reaper.

Wonder who will get sent back for me? Probably my uncle. He was a ####.

I wonder if it is something you volunteer for or is it like jury duty.

 

[Nipsey]

A lady I work with's father-in-law has been living in the house with her family for ~10 years. He was 91 and had his own full apartment downstairs in the basement. Two weeks ago things turned bad and he was in the hospital for a week. The news wasn't good and they decided to bring him home with some sort of hospice care (not sure how that works). He wasn't eating, it seemed near the end, etc. Anyway, last week the lady's sister-in-law spent the night with the FIL. At some point in the wee hours of the night/morning she left the room and when she came back in she "glimpsed" a man standing next to the FIL's bed. It was only for a second, and then he was gone, but it was long enough for her to recognize him as the FIL's older brother who died ~20 years ago. Later that morning the FIL passed away.

Sounds legit.