McRainy Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 3 hours ago, EssendonRam said: Awareness of precisely that is why I wanted to put the question ‘out there’. You could argue that I’m sceptical of my normal scepticism in this instance. It’s not a reaction I’m particularly comfortable with either. Hence, my references to being shaken earlier. I've come to the point where I've accepted not knowing, and not having to pin everything down to within one rational framework. Our attempts to grasp the world rationally and complete our understanding empirically are pretty limited; we only have what our brains and our senses give us. As a philosophy, I'm happy with life being a mystery to be lived, rather than a problem to be solved. As Wittgenstein said: "When the answer cannot be put into words, neither can the question be put into words. The riddle does not exist. If a question can be framed at all, it is also possible to answer it. Skepticism is not irrefutable, but obviously nonsensical, when it tries to raise doubts where no questions can be asked. For doubt can exist only where a question exists, a question only where an answer exists, and an answer only where something can be said. We feel that even when all possible scientific questions have been answered, the problems of life remain completely untouched. It is not how things are in the world that is mystical, but that it exists. There are, indeed, things that cannot be put into words. They make themselves manifest. They are what is mystical." There is no doubt that phenomena such as we are recounting here occur, they are too common to say otherwise. What they tell us, ultimately, about the nature of reality, no one knows. The important thing for me is to retain a sense of awe and wonder at life, rather than constantly trying to explain it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archied Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 11 minutes ago, Wolfie said: Sounds a lot more sensible than most of your political posts, to be honest ?? Your not implying away with the fairies are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 5 minutes ago, archied said: Your not implying away with the fairies are you? No more than she feels that about me, I'm sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
archied Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 9 minutes ago, Wolfie said: No more than she feels that about me, I'm sure. ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stive Pesley Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 I've never had anything like this happen to me personally, but I know too many people who have for me to be a complete sceptic When it's frauds like Derek Acorah etc then I won't have it, but when it's friends (and people like @EssendonRam) who have absolutely no reason to make this stuff up and appear as baffled by it as I am, then I'm happy to keep an open mind After all - we still don't really understand what human consciousness is. We strive every day to make more and more powerful computers from raw elements, yet we all have the most powerful sentient computers in our skulls, somehow made from organic material?! Its entirely possible that we evolved to blank out foresight so that we don't all go mad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 You know the spookiest thing about reading this thread, and the fact that seemingly spooky things seem to have happened to most people? Nothing like that has ever happened to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamNut Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 1 minute ago, eddie said: You know the spookiest thing about reading this thread, and the fact that seemingly spooky things seem to have happened to most people? Nothing like that has ever happened to me. What a wierd coincidence. Nothing has ever happened to me either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 21 minutes ago, StivePesley said: I've never had anything like this happen to me personally, but I know too many people who have for me to be a complete sceptic When it's frauds like Derek Acorah etc then I won't have it, but when it's friends (and people like @EssendonRam) who have absolutely no reason to make this stuff up and appear as baffled by it as I am, then I'm happy to keep an open mind After all - we still don't really understand what human consciousness is. We strive every day to make more and more powerful computers from raw elements, yet we all have the most powerful sentient computers in our skulls, somehow made from organic material?! Its entirely possible that we evolved to blank out foresight so that we don't all go mad! Interesting. Have you ever read "A Scourge of Screamers" (aka "Lost Perception") by Daniel F Galouye? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamNut Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Just looked at the phone and thought "i bet @eddie isn't there". I picked up the receiver and - sure enough - he wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stive Pesley Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 21 minutes ago, eddie said: Interesting. Have you ever read "A Scourge of Screamers" (aka "Lost Perception") by Daniel F Galouye? No - he's not a sci-fi author that I'm familiar with but I will investigate. Need some books for my holiday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyinLiverpool Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Many years ago I had a horrible dream that my mother was seriously ill. It troubled me so much that I called her early that morning to ask if she was ok. She was pretty surprised by this, as it was not the sort of thing I did but said she was fine, no problems at all. About a fortnight later, a routine scan revealed a cancerous growth. Fortunately, after long courses of treatment and surgery she got the all clear. The rational being in me says that at the time my like was changing and the dream represented the threat of collapse of all I knew as strength in the form of my mother. But the irrational says it didn't have to be my mother, it could have been a building collapse or some such. I am not a spiritual or mystical person at all ever since this incident I have been convinced that the mother-child connection is something more than the physical act of bearing and the emotional attachment of upbringing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phoenix Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Someone raised a topic on here regarding an anomoly with a an old LP that they had. I knew a guy who worked at the Abbey Road studios from the 60's until retirement. I thought that if anyone knew, it would be him, as a senior sound engineer. He was a good friend but lost touch some 40 years ago when I moved back 'North'. I chanced to look his name up on't'internet to find that he'd died about a week earlier. I managed to get in touch with his widow, who sent me a copy of the funeral service with its attendant eulogies and photos. Brought back some memories. I suppose it's just coincidence, but eerie just the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smyth_18 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 You're all bloody weirdos and you're scaring me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BathRam72 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 8 hours ago, Lambchop said: Have you heard of Robert Kirk? He's a 17th century Scottish clergyman who wrote an account of the faery lore and second sight amongst his parishioners. Mythology, if you will, but part of people's lives in his day, and common in some form to all cultures. Faery beings, land spirits, or genii loci, traditionally dwell in hills, woods, by springs or remote spots. They are reputed to interact with humans in various ways, not always helpful. There are various accounts in bardic tradition and medieval ballads, such as Thomas the Rhymer. There are numerous books on the subject published by Bob Stewart, who is a friend of mine, hence the interest. Here's another anecdote: one midsummer in the early 90s I went up to nine stone close on Harthill moor with a friend from Sheffield and his daughter, who would have been about five. We were standing around talking whilst the girl played amongst the standing stones. After a while, we noticed that she was lying down with her ear pressed to the ground. When we went to see what she was doing, she asked why there was music coming from underground. Neither of us could hear anything. A few years later I was reading a folklore book about Derbyshire and came across the legend of a shepherd who had fallen asleep in that circle at midsummer and been spirited away to dance with the faery folk underground. The main thing he remembered was the beautiful music. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Kirk_(folklorist) I have heard of Captain Kirk, he usually has a good grip of what is happening in the future. In all seriousness, my wife firmly believes in the spiritual (not I hasten to add religious at all). She believes in a greater being whether that be some sort of alien life form that bought us here etc etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxjam Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Never had anything happen to me and no one close to me has mentioned anything. I believe in extraterrestrial life however (whether its visited here or not is another matter) at least that would fall into the realm of science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McRainy Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 10 minutes ago, maxjam said: I believe in extraterrestrial life however Now I'm TOTALLY skeptical on that one. Elves, yup; angels, yup; things that go bump in the night, all day long. Aliens, pfft, give over. It seems to me that if they were out there, we'd know by know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssendonRam Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 3 hours ago, RamNut said: What a wierd coincidence. Nothing has ever happened to me either. You might have been @eddie in a past life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddie Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 21 minutes ago, Lambchop said: Now I'm TOTALLY skeptical on that one. Elves, yup; angels, yup; things that go bump in the night, all day long. Aliens, pfft, give over. It seems to me that if they were out there, we'd know by know. Extraterrestrial life does not necessarily mean intelligent life. Mind you, there is scant evidence of that on Earth at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssendonRam Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 18 minutes ago, Lambchop said: Now I'm TOTALLY skeptical on that one. Elves, yup; angels, yup; things that go bump in the night, all day long. Aliens, pfft, give over. It seems to me that if they were out there, we'd know by know. I'm with the mathematicians on that one. As improbable as life is to develop on any random rock you might select, the sheer scale of the universe and the incalculable number of potential candidates suitable for life-creation makes it highly improbable that humanity is the only form of life that's developed. Almost impossible to imagine that we're alone in the universe. Are other lifeforms likely to be humanoid? Who knows? Intelligent? Again, we don't know enough about the lottery we won to know how easily we could be replicated (although some of my exes are more indicative of 'common'... Visiting Earth in UFOs? Entirely different question about which I'm dubious TBH. The most persuasive evidence supporting alien visitations to Earth is, for mine, some of the seemingly inexplicable gaps in mankind's ancient progress. That so many ancient civilizations with no discernible means of communication share fables of powerful "gods" who came, brought huge advances in know how and departed, with the advances they brought largely lost over time. But, as I said, I remain dubious. Aliens are certainly not the only explanation for such events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McRainy Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 31 minutes ago, EssendonRam said: I'm with the mathematicians on that one. Million to one chances crop up nine times out of ten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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