How Far Do You Take a parnanormal Explanation?


We see it on the ghost hunting shows, hunters busy debunking paranormal occurrences, finding logical explanations and looking for that which is unexplainable and tagging it “paranormal.” But, for the average person who runs into something unexplainable, how far do you take your explanation?

For example, you see something in the sky that does not in any way remind you of an airplane or a helicopter; it’s silent and it’s moving strangely. Here’s some ways people deal with these sort of events:

1. For some, they’d turn away, figuring they already know what’s in the sky—human controlled modes of transportation and birds, as well as balloons and flying debris. To them, there is nothing of note to stop and study.

2. Others study the object and wonder what it could be, going through the obvious considerations until they are left with a puzzle. Still, these people will stop and say to themselves, “it’s explainable, I just can’t seem to figure out what it is right now.”

3. There are some who would stop and study the object, their heartbeat quickening as they realize there is nothing familiar about this object or its movement. This is unexplainable and therefore paranormal. If it’s paranormal, it’s probably a UFO.

4. The last group will see something like this in the sky and immediately come to the conclusion it’s a UFO and it’s alien-operated.

Who is right? Let’s compare this with the ghost hunting shows, shall we?

1. This group of people who have no paranormal possibilities are very narrow-focused. They stop exploring, stop looking for answers and think they already know all the answers. These are debunkers who take it to a religious level of zealotry.

2. This explanatory style might be more like “Fact or Faked.” They believe that everything is explainable, but sometimes they come up with trouble finding ways to explain it. This is a good deal of the population, especially those who have not faced something paranormal.

3. This is your “Ghost Hunters” team. They debunk and then when they can’t debunk, it becomes paranormal and therefore a ghost.

4. This is your “Ghost Adventures” group. They assume it’s paranormal right off the back; every sound, every shadow, every shiver.

Surely in your lifetime you have met the unexplainable. What category did you fall into?

Comments

  1. I'm # 3. for our personal experiences, when there's not reasonable answer, i believe the phenomena is paranormal.

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  2. Sandra;
    You probably are like 90% of the folks wh read on this blog. In other words, you're perfectly normal! Hope your nights are cool there. I can only imagine what cool is. Even water from the tap on full cold here is very warm. Yuck! Nights low temps are 89!

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  3. I want so bad to believe in all that stuff. But alas i have not been touched with those moments. Ho hum.

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  4. CB;
    It's really a matter of exposure. You need quiet moments in old places with lots of history and some time in the country with night skies overhead. I've seen a lot of UFOs here in Az, never saw one in the DC area where I grew up. Right place, right time, buddy. I'm extremely logic-minded (even though I'm a kidder and a goof) and if I hadn't had what happened happen to me, I would never believe in the paranormal. It's a pivotal moment.

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  5. When I see UFO my mind for some reason comes right away to the conclusion that it is UFO. I fall in last category.

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  6. Echo;
    I have to admit living in the SW with so much sky and no clouds--you see some crazy stuff. I've seen some things that shocked me so much I slammed on my brakes--as did all the other cars on the highway (not a good thing). Witnessed them with others. Even photographed and videotaped them. Can't explain what they were. I think I tend to be #2 to #3. It takes a helluva lot for me to say it's paranormal. I tend to think military first. We have a lot of #4's here in AZ. Eventually, you just know there's a lot of crazy stuff up there.

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  7. I heard there's a lot of paranormal activity and UFO in Sedona area, where the rocks formations are.

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  8. Echo;
    Yes! Sedona even has a UFO cafe and UFO tours at nighttime. It is extremely active. I'm not far from the Estrella mountains here and they are another super hot spot.

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  9. I'm very much of a mind that 'once we've eliminated the possible, whatever remains - however improbable - must be the truth'. To wit, I look for paranormal explanations only as a last resort. I do so, because I have had my own unexplained encounters, which leads me to believe that it is hubris for humanity to believe we know it all. What we term "paranormal" isn't tantamount to "supernatural" and therefore still exists within the scope of science and reason. It can be explained, but not just yet. As science advances, perhaps these mysteries will seem less so.

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  10. Cullan;
    I'm totally with you. I wouldn't call the unexplained supernatural, but actually something within the realm of physics because if we can see, smell, hear and feel it, it's operating in our plane. Even should it be found to be spirit activity, it still has a physical manifestation possibility occasionally.

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  11. Category 5:

    You look in wonder at something you don't recognise. You descibe it in your journal, read local histories and folklore of the object. Talk to friends and family about what you experienced. Finally, increasing your circle to include experts.

    And when all of your avenues of exploration have reached their end with a mystery. Consider yourself blessed to have had the experience.

    Barry

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  12. Barry;
    Very well said. I would have had a very different life had I not been raised in an actively haunted home and dug up relics and realized I can read them with my hands. Although I did end up in a logic-based line of work and use my Virgo tendencies and intelligence to get things done in the world that must be done (responsibilities), had I not developed a curiosity and a talent in psychic skills, I might never have found balance. I don't believe in fate, but I do believe in growing for every experience; whether it's explainable or unexplainable. You really meet your inner self when you have to explain your world, what's going on in it, how it relates to you, how you relate to others. Personal explanatory style is the key to peace and joy.

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  13. I think that a lot of people who don't believe in ghosts or other paranormal activity do so because there is no logical explanation or they've never witnessed or experienced anything themselves. The attitude is, "If you can't explain it, then it must not be true." This is why those who are devoutly religious confuse me at times. They believe in angels and demons (and so do I for that matter) and they also believe in miracles. Ok, fine. So if you believe in these things, why is it so far fetched to believe in ghosts or spirits or whatnot?

    I think this stems from the belief or non-belief of an after life outside of going to heaven or hell. I imagine a lot of these people also do not believe in reincarnation.

    Personally, I'm open-minded, have seen and heard things, so unless you can convince me 100% that I'm full of shit (at least when it comes to the paranormal!) then as the Monkey's sing...."I'm a BELIEVER!"

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  14. Tara-Dear;
    I am with you on that. I've seen someone who was a complete disbeliever in everything from God to afterlife to ghosts, having something amazing happen to him and it changed his whole world. A logic-minded, rational kind of guy stumped by the paranormal. It happens to the best of us and we are never the same afterwards because our universe now has holes in it--not a fixed thing with defined borders. I find it exciting. I don't like limits, myself; personally or intellectually or spiritually.

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  15. I don't know where I fit. Probably all of them at one point or another.

    I try not to come to any baseless conclusions while being alert and remaining open to experience. Sometimes the most logical course of action is to accept the illogical.

    "It is by no means an irrational fancy that, in a future existence, we shall look upon what we think our present existence, as a dream. " A.E. Poe

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  16. Pangs;
    You are ever practical and insightful. I love when you quote, makes me get all giggly like a teen girl!

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