Merkabah

[Skarekrow]

Ahh, looks at the speshul wittle snowflake.

I know, I wasn't criticizing you. I mean if you want to delude yourself and believe that you''re special I'm ok with that. What else are friends there for, but to enable a psychosis that will eventually lead to incarceration in an institute for the criminally insane. hugs

You know…just let me know when you want to get locked up…we’ll go pick out a place together and check ourselves in with instructions to lock ourselves away forever.
Basket-weaving here I come.

 

[Tin Man]

You know…just let me know when you want to get locked up…we’ll go pick out a place together and check ourselves in with instructions to lock ourselves away forever.
Basket-weaving here I come.

Oh krowy. If you weren't a symptom of my deepening psychosis, I'd marry you.

 

[Skarekrow]

Dream-enhancing with wild herbs​

​

Do you remember what you dreamt about last night?
How about the night before?

For thousands of years, we humans have placed a ton of value on the content of these bedtime reveries, deriving inner wisdom and even premonitions from them. Dreaming feels like a birthright, an extra sense that allows us to process both rationally and spiritually while our body rests up.

They are one of behavioral science's biggest mysteries, with no agreed-upon theory of their origin and specific purpose.
For some, dreams occur nightly, but others never experience them at all.

One thing is for sure - many who don't dream wish they did.

Since I was young, I've had them on a regular basis, but have always known there were deeper places to go in this state of consciousness.
The quest for many is to achieve the lucid dream, or "knowing we're dreaming" inside the dream.

The lucid dreamers I know are able to navigate their dreamscape with an awakened mind, asking characters they come across pretty insightful questions about their spirit path.

They can run, jump, and fly at will, gaining profound inner wisdom from the experience.

If you would like to dream more at night, and perhaps experience the magical lucid dream, there are three wild herbs that have been used throughout time to accomplish just that.

The herbs below are all 100% legal, and easy to get ahold of.
However, please do your own research before trying any of them - herbs are medicine and they should be treated with proper caution.
These plants each have a variety of other medicinal uses, but we're focusing solely on their dream enhancing abilities.

​

Wild Asparagus Root - Asparagus racemosus

The Chinese word for wild asparagus root is Tian Men Dong - or heavenly spirit herb. For millennia, it's been cherished by shamans, monks, and yogis for its heart-opening effects.

Also known as "The Flying Herb", it's believed that wild asparagus root helps one fly through the universe at night, achieving magnificent dreams.
The wisdom schools of ancient China placed much value on dream work, namely lucid dreaming.

In Chinese folk medicine, it is believed that this particular herb has a direct and positive effect on the heart energy, dissolving the dualities that come with our physical incarnation - black and white, left and right, inside and out.

This allows our consciousness to blossom into infinite space while we sleep.

Preparation: the best way to use wild asparagus for this particular purpose, is to brew a tea of either the fresh or dried root. Keep in mind that a tea from the fresh root will be much more potent.

​

Valerian Root - Valeriana officinalis

This herb has been used in folk medicine for centuries as a calming aid, muscle relaxant, and to promote deep sleep.
Because lucid dreaming usually requires a heightened state of slumber, it has become a commonly reported side effect of valerian root.

Many also report that valerian greatly improves the ability to remember their dreams.
Robert Monroe, a famed specialist in Out Of Body Experiences, once said "Most of us dream, and those who don't simply are not remembering them."

Imagine an herb that not only promotes deep states of sleep that are fertile ground for vivid dreams, but also boosts our ability to remember what happened the morning after.

Valerian might be just that.

Warning: Because there isn't enough information available regarding its effects during pregnancy, women who are expecting are better off avoiding it altogether.

Keep in mind: If you already experience extreme dream states, you might think twice before trying valerian.
It can intensify your nocturnal adventures quite a bit - which is wonderful when you're having a good dream, but not-so-great if you're having a nightmare.

Preparation: Valerian is most commonly brewed in a tea, but be careful to use water that is hot, but not boiling, in order to preserve the delicate oils in the root. Some also prepare a tincture from the dried or fresh root (this can usually be found at health food stores).

​

Mugwort - Artemisia vulgaris

Very common throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, mugwort has a rich history of use, both as a medicinal and metaphysical ally.
In the middle ages, it was known as Cingulum Sancti Johannis, because Saint John the Baptist famously wore a belt of it whenever he traveled through the woods.

It is referenced often in Celtic and Norse mythology as a magical plant that can ward off evil, and was hung in doorways and burnt as incense to clear stagnant air and prevent illness.

Mugwort is known as "Molush" by the Chumash Indians of California, and its Paiute name translates literally to "Dream Plant".
It's often smoked in indigenous ceremonies, and interestingly, is also hailed by various tribes for its power to ward off evil, bad spirits, and disease.

Known for its dream-enhancing effects, many report that it magnifies the brilliance of color and overall duration of their mid-slumber journeys.
On a personal note, I've had some lovely experiences with this one.

Mugwort grows just about everywhere.
You'll often find it underfoot, whether in the woods or walking through an overgrown urban environment.

Is it sheer chance that this sacred herb that reportedly heightens consciousness is sprouting up all around us?

Preparation: Like the two plants mentioned above, Mugwort is quite often taken as a tea, but can also be smoked in a pipe.
The leaves of the Mugwort plant are what contain the active chemical constituents.

I wish you wonderful and wisdom-packed journeys tonight, and many nights thereafter.
Remember, like any good herbalist, we each need to do careful research on the medicinals we choose to work with - this is a central pillar of the plant path.

Everyone deserves to dream

 

[Skarekrow]

Lucid dreaming:
Unraveling the mystery of consciousness?


​

We spend around six years of our lives dreaming - that's 2,190 days or 52,560 hours.
Although we can be aware of the perceptions and emotions we experience in our dreams, we are not conscious in the same way as when we're awake.

This explains why we can't recognise that we're in a dream and often mistake these bizarre narratives for reality.

But some people - lucid dreamers - have the ability to experience awareness during their dreams by "re-awakening" some aspects of their waking consciousness.

They can even take control and act with intention in the dream world (think Leonardo DiCaprio in the film Inception).

Lucid dreaming is still an understudied subject, but recent advances suggest it's a hybrid state of waking consciousness and sleep.

Lucid dreaming is one of many "anomalous" experiences that can occur during sleep.
Sleep paralysis, where you wake up terrified and paralysed while remaining in a state of sleep, is another.

There are also false awakenings, where you believe you have woken up only to discover that you are in fact dreaming.
Along with lucid dreams, all these experiences reflect an increase in subjective awareness while remaining in a state of sleep.

To find out more about the transitions between these states - and hopefully consciousness itself - we have launched a large-scale online survey on sleep experiences to look at the relationships between these different states of hybrid consciousness.

Lucid dreaming and the brain

About half of us will experience at least one lucid dream in our lives.
And it could be something to look forward to because it allows people to simulate desired scenarios from meeting the love of their life to winning a medieval battle.

There is some evidence that lucid dreaming can be induced, and a number of large online communities now exist where users share tips and tricks for achieving greater lucidity during their dreams (such as having dream totems, a familiar object from the waking world that can help determine if you are in a dream, or spinning around in dreams to stop lucidity from slipping away).

Sleep paralysis. My Dream, My Bad Dream, 1915.


​

A recent study that asked participants to report in detail on their most recent dream found that lucid (compared to non-lucid) dreams were indeed characterised by far greater insight into the fact that the sleeper was in a dream.

Participants who experienced lucid dreams also said they had greater control over thoughts and actions within the dream, had the ability to think logically, and were even better at accessing real memories of their waking life.

Another study looking at people's ability to make conscious decisions in waking life as well as during lucid and non-lucid dreams found a large degree of overlap between volitional abilities when we are awake and when we are having lucid dreams.

However, the ability to plan was considerably worse in lucid dreams compared to wakefulness.

Lucid and non-lucid dreams certainly feel subjectively different and this might suggest that they are associated with different patterns of brain activity.
But confirming this is not as easy as it might seem.

Participants have to be in a brain scanner overnight and researchers have to decipher when a lucid dream is happening so that they can compare brain activity during the lucid dream with that of non-lucid dreaming.

Ingenious studies examining this have devised a communication code between lucid dreamer participants and researchers during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, when dreaming typically takes place.

Before going to sleep, the participant and the researcher agree on a specific eye movement (for example two movements left then two movements right) that participants make to signal that they are lucid.

Prefrontal cortex

​

By using this approach, studies have found that the shift from non-lucid to lucid REM sleep is associated with an increased activity of the frontal areas of the brain.

Significantly, these areas are associated with "higher order" cognitive functioning such as logical reasoning and voluntary behaviour which are typically only observed during waking states.

The type of brain activity observed, gamma wave activity, is also known to allow different aspects of our experience; perceptions, emotions, thoughts, and memories to"bind" together into an integrated consciousness.

A follow-up study found that electrically stimulating these areas caused an increase in the degree of lucidity experienced during a dream.

Another study more accurately specified the brain regions involved in lucid dreams, and found increased activity in regions such as the pre-frontal cortex and the precuneus.

These brain areas are associated with higher cognitive abilities such as self-referential processing and a sense of agency - again supporting the view that lucid dreaming is a hybrid state of consciousness.

Tackling the consciousness problem

How consciousness arises in the brain is one of the most perplexing questions in neuroscience.
But it has been suggested that studying lucid dreams could pave the way for new insights into the neuroscience of consciousness.

This is because lucid and non-lucid REM sleep are two states where our conscious experience is markedly different, yet the overall brain state remains the same (we are in REM sleep all the time, often dreaming).

By comparing specific differences in brain activity from a lucid dream with a non-lucid one, then, we can look at features that may be facilitating the enhanced awareness experienced in the lucid dream.

Furthermore, by using eye signaling as a marker of when a sleeper is in a lucid dream, it is possible to study the neurobiological activity at this point to further understand not only what characterizes and maintains this heightened consciousness, but how it emerges in the first place.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

So talk to me people…
To be fully frank and honest with you I am probably clinically depressed, though I am both super-good at hiding it (including from myself) and am pretty much used to it being my standard state of being.
My dilemma is I suppose a common mid-life crisis type theme.
I feel like a worthless excuse of a person sometimes…for stupid reasons.

I do see a counselor every other week, because it’s all related to my chronic back pain and the associated symptoms/emotional toll it takes on you after a while.
While I could work, fuck yeah…I used to do fucking heart surgery man…I spent like the whole first half of my life establishing that position.
I was good…still could be good…but then the physical limitations pop up and I just can’t do the job anymore.
For over a year it took me 15 mins to reach my car in the parking lot at the end of the day because every step made me wince.

Back to the dilemma…
What to do with my time?
What to do with myself so I don’t go insane.
Understand that my mind works in a very strange way that it needs a task or it will create one or imagine one and they aren’t always happy thoughts or tasks.

Basically, another health hit came along a few weeks ago…and though it scares the fucking shit out of me I know that I will make it through it.
I just don’t want to take everyone else down with me too I guess…I know I need help with depression, but somewhere somehow this expectation I have put myself under says that I have to be some fucking tough guy.
Going nowhere with no strategies.

It would be so easy to just get lost in all the pain pills again….my Doctors will give me anything I want…Morphine, Methadone, Dilaudid, Clonazapam, just pick something.

I won’t do that though, for I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

Forgive my occasional “letting go” of pent up emotional rage and frustration.

Fin.

 

[Tin Man]

So talk to me people…
To be fully frank and honest with you I am probably clinically depressed, though I am both super-good at hiding it (including from myself) and am pretty much used to it being my standard state of being.
My dilemma is I suppose a common mid-life crisis type theme.
I feel like a worthless excuse of a person sometimes…for stupid reasons.

I do see a counselor every other week, because it’s all related to my chronic back pain and the associated symptoms/emotional toll it takes on you after a while.
While I could work, fuck yeah…I used to do fucking heart surgery man…I spent like the whole first half of my life establishing that position.
I was good…still could be good…but then the physical limitations pop up and I just can’t do the job anymore.
For over a year it took me 15 mins to reach my car in the parking lot at the end of the day because every step made me wince.

Back to the dilemma…
What to do with my time?
What to do with myself so I don’t go insane.
Understand that my mind works in a very strange way that it needs a task or it will create one or imagine one and they aren’t always happy thoughts or tasks.

Basically, another health hit came along a few weeks ago…and though it scares the fucking shit out of me I know that I will make it through it.
I just don’t want to take everyone else down with me too I guess…I know I need help with depression, but somewhere somehow this expectation I have put myself under says that I have to be some fucking tough guy.
Going nowhere with no strategies.

It would be so easy to just get lost in all the pain pills again….my Doctors will give me anything I want…Morphine, Methadone, Dilaudid, Clonazapam, just pick something.

I won’t do that though, for I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

Forgive my occasional “letting go” of pent up emotional rage and frustration.

Fin.

Sorry to hear things are so hard right now.

You seem really focused on being worthless or a burden. Perhaps doing something that could actively help others might bring that sense of self-worth. Even if it's just doing office work for the ISPCAN (International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect). I know going from surgeon to an unpaid volunteer wouldn't be easy, but it would get you out of the house and could make you feel good about yourself. It would also mean meeting more people, maybe help you get out of your mind.

 

[Skarekrow]

Sorry to hear things are so hard right now.

You seem really focused on being worthless or a burden. Perhaps doing something that could actively help others might bring that sense of self-worth. Even if it's just doing office work for the ISPCAN (International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect). I know going from surgeon to an unpaid volunteer wouldn't be easy, but it would get you out of the house and could make you feel good about yourself. It would also mean meeting more people, maybe help you get out of your mind.

Pretty good sentence for how I feel though shouldn’t logically.

 

[PintoBean]

So talk to me people…
To be fully frank and honest with you I am probably clinically depressed, though I am both super-good at hiding it (including from myself) and am pretty much used to it being my standard state of being.
My dilemma is I suppose a common mid-life crisis type theme.
I feel like a worthless excuse of a person sometimes…for stupid reasons.

I do see a counselor every other week, because it’s all related to my chronic back pain and the associated symptoms/emotional toll it takes on you after a while.
While I could work, fuck yeah…I used to do fucking heart surgery man…I spent like the whole first half of my life establishing that position.
I was good…still could be good…but then the physical limitations pop up and I just can’t do the job anymore.
For over a year it took me 15 mins to reach my car in the parking lot at the end of the day because every step made me wince.

Back to the dilemma…
What to do with my time?
What to do with myself so I don’t go insane.
Understand that my mind works in a very strange way that it needs a task or it will create one or imagine one and they aren’t always happy thoughts or tasks.

Basically, another health hit came along a few weeks ago…and though it scares the fucking shit out of me I know that I will make it through it.
I just don’t want to take everyone else down with me too I guess…I know I need help with depression, but somewhere somehow this expectation I have put myself under says that I have to be some fucking tough guy.
Going nowhere with no strategies.

It would be so easy to just get lost in all the pain pills again….my Doctors will give me anything I want…Morphine, Methadone, Dilaudid, Clonazapam, just pick something.

I won’t do that though, for I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

Forgive my occasional “letting go” of pent up emotional rage and frustration.

Fin.

I hate to hear that you feel like "a worthless excuse for a person sometimes..." I think keyword here is "sometimes." From experience, and I'm sure you know, that these feelings come and go. I think the chronic pain thing can be so debilitating to the spirit. We are a society defined by "what do you do?" (which all too often means "how much do you make?" or "how important are you?"). The message is received. It's sometimes so hard to answer that question without an inner wince. It's always a little gut punch for me. I have to remember not answer with "I used to be XYZ" and blah blah. Who you are now is good enough. You are more than good enough. But please remember your intrinsic value lies far beyond title or what paycheck you pull in. I don't know you, but from the little I've had the pleasure of reading here, I believe you are person with an embarrassment of wealth in your contributions to the world. Taking classes at the community college near me has helped me remember I am growing, living, vital. I don't need an impressive title to prove that. I wonder if taking a class in something in your area of expertise or just something new would help return some elan to you.

 

[Tin Man]

I think [MENTION=13730]PintoBean[/MENTION] gives some excellent advice. Taking a course in something you've always wanted to learn could give a nice self-esteem boost. I know it did for me. It might start out as a way to lessen that feeling of worthlessness, but could lead to an entire new career.

 

[ThomasJ79]

So talk to me people…
To be fully frank and honest with you I am probably clinically depressed, though I am both super-good at hiding it (including from myself) and am pretty much used to it being my standard state of being.
My dilemma is I suppose a common mid-life crisis type theme.
I feel like a worthless excuse of a person sometimes…for stupid reasons.

I do see a counselor every other week, because it’s all related to my chronic back pain and the associated symptoms/emotional toll it takes on you after a while.
While I could work, fuck yeah…I used to do fucking heart surgery man…I spent like the whole first half of my life establishing that position.
I was good…still could be good…but then the physical limitations pop up and I just can’t do the job anymore.
For over a year it took me 15 mins to reach my car in the parking lot at the end of the day because every step made me wince.

Back to the dilemma…
What to do with my time?
What to do with myself so I don’t go insane.
Understand that my mind works in a very strange way that it needs a task or it will create one or imagine one and they aren’t always happy thoughts or tasks.

Basically, another health hit came along a few weeks ago…and though it scares the fucking shit out of me I know that I will make it through it.
I just don’t want to take everyone else down with me too I guess…I know I need help with depression, but somewhere somehow this expectation I have put myself under says that I have to be some fucking tough guy.
Going nowhere with no strategies.

It would be so easy to just get lost in all the pain pills again….my Doctors will give me anything I want…Morphine, Methadone, Dilaudid, Clonazapam, just pick something.

I won’t do that though, for I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep.

Forgive my occasional “letting go” of pent up emotional rage and frustration.

Fin.

Sorry to hear that you are living through a very difficult time. It must really suck for you right now man. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your back? The reason I ask is that I had a very similar bout of despair when I injured my back. My injury was muscular in nature and it took a really long time to heal and I never felt more useless in my life. So I was wondering what the nature of your injury was and what the chances of getting better are.

 

[Skarekrow]

Sorry to hear things are so hard right now.

You seem really focused on being worthless or a burden. Perhaps doing something that could actively help others might bring that sense of self-worth. Even if it's just doing office work for the ISPCAN (International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect). I know going from surgeon to an unpaid volunteer wouldn't be easy, but it would get you out of the house and could make you feel good about yourself. It would also mean meeting more people, maybe help you get out of your mind.

I hate to hear that you feel like "a worthless excuse for a person sometimes..." I think keyword here is "sometimes." From experience, and I'm sure you know, that these feelings come and go. I think the chronic pain thing can be so debilitating to the spirit. We are a society defined by "what do you do?" (which all too often means "how much do you make?" or "how important are you?"). The message is received. It's sometimes so hard to answer that question without an inner wince. It's always a little gut punch for me. I have to remember not answer with "I used to be XYZ" and blah blah. Who you are now is good enough. You are more than good enough. But please remember your intrinsic value lies far beyond title or what paycheck you pull in. I don't know you, but from the little I've had the pleasure of reading here, I believe you are person with an embarrassment of wealth in your contributions to the world. Taking classes at the community college near me has helped me remember I am growing, living, vital. I don't need an impressive title to prove that. I wonder if taking a class in something in your area of expertise or just something new would help return some elan to you.

I think @PintoBean gives some excellent advice. Taking a course in something you've always wanted to learn could give a nice self-esteem boost. I know it did for me. It might start out as a way to lessen that feeling of worthlessness, but could lead to an entire new career.

Sorry to hear that you are living through a very difficult time. It must really suck for you right now man. If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your back? The reason I ask is that I had a very similar bout of despair when I injured my back. My injury was muscular in nature and it took a really long time to heal and I never felt more useless in my life. So I was wondering what the nature of your injury was and what the chances of getting better are.

Of course you are all correct. I just feel so (whatstheword?) under the control of my illness, it dictates almost everything I do in my life.
Do I feel okay this morning…so far, yes…but I know that could change in a few hours…so as where I could be a semi-socially flaky INFJ, I feel like a recluse sometimes, except it isn’t self-inflicted…or maybe it is…maybe it’s all psychosomatic and the X-rays were unconsciously psychically altered…or someone from the many-universes theory came and switched them? Haha.
Jimmers I have ankylosing spondylitis which is a form of rheumatoid arthritis primarily attacking the spine though it can spread wherever it feels like really I guess.
Prognosis…don’t know, no one knows other than it’s gonna suck. Go to the AS association website and check out their forums if you really want to slit your wrists.
Okay..okay…negative nancy - fuck.
I know attitude plays into the way I feel…I just accepted that I use a walking cane when I go out now (it isn’t the one with the hidden sword that I specifically requested for Xmas, but very nice nonetheless), and you know I’m okay with it.
It’s very nice made of Irish Blackthorn (very magical) with a sandalwood grip (also magical).
So I have been getting into pyrography (burning art into wood) and have done a few things…it’s very tedious but I also enjoy that focus sometimes too.
I just don’t feel like what I’m doing when I’m doing shit like that matters…it begins to feel pointless after a while and the last one I started has sat there for a month now without me touching it.
Like I said, I had another medical thing come up too, and it has me really frightened…medical in nature/way my brain works = bad.
So I’m trying to stay on the positive side of the rainbow with that one…that in the end it will all be just fine.
I want to be at a point where I can go back to volunteering, right now, that just isn’t physically feasible if someone is counting on me…if they aren’t counting on me, then I’m usually in.
So…anyhow some parts are better than this time last year, and some aren’t…and I just lose my shit sometimes…chronic pain = anxiety/depression…I get tired of fighting and have to lash out sometimes.
You all are awesome friends whom I appreciate immensely, and love to talk about interesting shit with.
You don’t ever lay down the harsh or mean judgement on me that some would so giddily do on this forum.
So thanks.
*lots of feels*

 

[Kgal]

I feel great joy in witnessing others mirror your self back to you with kindness and care....and I feel gratitude in seeing this occur...mostly for my own selfish reasons on account of I happen to like having you in my life. They are helping you cope...and that's cool.

When I found myself standing (and kneeling) in your shoes my Shift friends would remind me that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. They would remind me that the only way out is through...and this was best accomplished by loving the depressed and sad one inside me.
I know you already know this...but I am paying it forward and gently reminding you of this.
So go ahead with the heavy sigh...and lean back for a moment and let in just sink in.

You're sad. That's okay.
It's normal to feel sadness.
There is no focus on why the sadness may be there...there is only sadness.
Picture it in your imagination and let it unfold. Look at Sadness. Invite it to come talk to you...and then listen with kindness.
...Just like you've listened to me with care and compassion....and I am deeply thankful for that..
...Just like people here listen to you with their empathy and love.

 

[Skarekrow]

I feel great joy in witnessing others mirror your self back to you with kindness and care....and I feel gratitude in seeing this occur...mostly for my own selfish reasons on account of I happen to like having you in my life. They are helping you cope...and that's cool.

When I found myself standing (and kneeling) in your shoes my Shift friends would remind me that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. They would remind me that the only way out is through...and this was best accomplished by loving the depressed and sad one inside me.
I know you already know this...but I am paying it forward and gently reminding you of this.
So go ahead with the heavy sigh...and lean back for a moment and let in just sink in.

You're sad. That's okay.
It's normal to feel sadness.
There is no focus on why the sadness may be there...there is only sadness.
Picture it in your imagination and let it unfold. Look at Sadness. Invite it to come talk to you...and then listen with kindness.
...Just like you've listened to me with care and compassion....and I am deeply thankful for that..
...Just like people here listen to you with their empathy and love.

There are beautiful people on this forum, and I’m blessed to call some of them my friends.
Thank you all very much for always understanding the deeper feelings and meanings behind the thoughts that jumble in my head from time to time only to then spill out onto this forum page.
I’m a work in progress I know…it’s just painful work very often.
It is what it is.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Skarekrow]

Doesn’t necessarily match my point of view but then if everything did it wouldn’t be as interesting…I can appreciate this article incorporating the writer’s Christian beliefs.
It’s also interesting to me to see that other perspective, but also one that can easily mesh with my own too.
Plus…I don’t discount that parts of the Bible and other such religious doctrines hold value in many ways.
Anyhow, enjoy!

Ghosts and Quantum Theory

by MIKE DURAN


​

I didn’t expect to be talking about ghosts as much as I have lately.
But thanks to the release of The Ghost Box, that’s exactly what has happened.

One reader was surprised to learn that ghost boxes are real things.
At least, they purport to be real things.

In fact, you can even purchase ghost boxes, spirit scanners, and ghost hunting kits online.
Course, the one in my novel is 20 stories high and sitting in the middle of downtown Los Angeles.

I’ve also conducted two different radio interviews, both in which I was asked about ghosts, especially from an evangelical perspective.
While the Christian Church is largely resolved as to the nature of the afterlife (heaven and hell) and its denizens (angels and demons), there is no consensus as to an “in between” state and possible “overlaps” therein.

Are the dead aware of us?
Can they interact with us?

If so, what forms do those interactions take?
Or is all such “contact” categorically evil?

The more questions one asks, the further we get into territory beyond our explaining.
And beyond biblical proof-texting.

This, however, has not stopped us from trying to explain paranormal phenomenon.
Ghosts are no exception.

Evangelicals, for the most part, have come to define ghosts as demons.
There are several reasons – good reasons – to do so.

One is the Bible’s position on death. “…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27 NIV).
Souls don’t get second chances.

And hauntings seem to lack the finality that Scripture seems to suggest.
Another reason is the fixed nature of our eternal state.

It’s either heaven or hell.
Forever. (Even those who believe in purgatory see it as a holding tank for one or the other.)

As such, the Bible provides glimpses of souls in eternal torment or eternal bliss.
Frankly, we don’t see many souls traipsing about unsure of where they’re headed.

A final factor in the “ghosts are demons” position is the biblical warnings about “deceiving spirits” (I Tim. 4:1; I Jn. 4:1).
We are in a “struggle” against “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

Not only are there spirits out there, many of them want to do us in and perpetrate “another gospel” (Gal. 1:8) .
The medium who claims to speak to the dead, but communicates a message contrary to the Gospel, is probably speaking to someone other than Uncle Bob’s ghost.

But while there is good reason to see ghosts as demons — at the least, something malevolent — the Bible seems to offer some “contrary” evidence as to their nature and existence.

The most famous and perhaps the most puzzling “ghost incident” in Scripture is Saul and the Witch of Endor (I Samuel 28).
When Saul compels a seer to summon the prophet Samuel, they witness “a spirit coming up out of the ground” (vs. 13 NIV).

The spirit is recognized as the dead prophet who validates himself by prophesying against Saul (vss. 16-19).
So was Samuel a ghost?

And where was he before his invocation?
Whatever your answer, the manifestation of Samuel’s “ghost” is possible evidence of another category of existence, neither demon nor angel but disembodied man, still able to interact with our earthly plane.

Another monkey wrench in the “ghosts are demons” case is The Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8) where two dead prophets — Moses and Elijah – manifest alongside Jesus.

Were they ghosts?
Had they been physically resurrected?

Scripture is unclear.
Complicating matters was the fact the prophets “were talking with Jesus” (vs. 4 NIV), a sort of inter-dimensional conversation.

Still another account is Jesus’ appearance to His disciples after His crucifixion.
Luke records this:

While [the disciples] were still talking… Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:36-39 NIV, emphasis mine)

​

Notice, the disciples immediately assumed they’d seen a ghost, suggesting that ghosts were an admissible category within their culture.
Even more interesting, Jesus does not rebuke them for this belief.

In fact, He seems to substantiate it: “a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (vs. 39).
This is important because, Christians have historically maintained that Christ resurrected in His same body.

Even though the risen Jesus had the ability to vanish (Lk. 24:31) and suddenly appear in locked rooms (Jn. 20:19, 26), He was not a ghost.
Among other things, this tells us that ghosts are not resurrected souls (and vice-versa), which means they are… something else.

But while evangelicals typically sift such questions through the grid of Scripture, there’s another growing body of theory and research that is being used to explain paranormal phenomenon.

In outlining 10 Scientific Explanations for Ghostly Phenomenon, Nolan Moore writes about the much heralded research of two physicists concerning life after death:

Quantum mechanics is the study of the smallest types of matter, and it has led to some pretty awesome inventions.
However, it can get pretty weird when physicists start talking about souls and ghosts.

Take, for example, Dr. Stuart Hameroff and his physicist friend Roger Penrose.
Hameroff and Penrose theorize that human consciousness comes from microtubules inside our brain cells, and these tubules are responsible for quantum processing (our souls basically).

Hameroff and Penrose believe when people have a near-death experience, all that quantum information leaves the brain, yet continues to exist, which is why some people report out-of-body experiences and lights at the end of tunnels.

As you might expect, a lot of scientists have problems with Hameroff and Penrose’s theory.
But Dr. Henry Stapp isn’t one of them.

As a respected quantum physicist who worked with the famous Heisenberg, Stapp believes that a person’s personality might be able to survive death and exist as a “mental entity.”

Stapp theorizes if these entities could return to the physical world, then concepts like possession and channeling could really be possible.

​

Which has led some to speculate that ghosts could actually be “mental entities,” an individual’s “quantum information” that has somehow returned or intersected the physical world.

If this is true, possession and channeling could indeed be seen as the intrusion of a real “mental entity” into another.
Some have looked to Albert Einstein’s work concerning the conservation of energy as proof of ghosts.

For example, ghost researcher John Kachuba, in his book Ghosthunters (2007, New Page Books), writes,

“Einstein proved that all the energy of the universe is constant and that it can neither be created nor destroyed. … So what happens to that energy when we die? If it cannot be destroyed, it must then, according to Dr. Einstein, be transformed into another form of energy. What is that new energy? … Could we call that new creation a ghost?”

​

As with most of this stuff, it’s complete speculation.
Nevertheless, it shows how questions that were once consigned to the purely spiritual or metaphysical are getting play in science circles.

Multiverse theory and parallel universes are another branch of quantum science that potentially explains ghosts.
In a parallel universe, what we call ghosts could actually be persons or entities from a parallel universe or dimension.

Stephen Hawking has suggested that time is not necessarily linear, but that it can, on occasion, curl back on itself, creating loops or eddies.
In this sense, it’s possible that ghosts can be explained as spirits or beings somehow trapped in a time loop. (Note, this theory is also used to explain deja vu experiences, in which an individual essentially encounters some sort of time loop and temporarily intersects their own future.)

Multiverse theory could conjecture that ghosts are living people we are seeing from another time.
Sometimes called an Einstein Rosen Bridge or “wormhole,” this theory could postulate that what we call ghosts are actually living beings traversing wormholes from other dimensions.

Interestingly, the Bible seems to lend credence to the idea of parallel universes or dimensions existing alongside ours, yet remaining unseen.
Take for instance the story of Elisha and his servant.

They are surrounded by an enemy army and the servant fears for his life.
But Elisha is, apparently, privy to an invisible dimension impinging upon their own.

And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.”
Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (II Kings 6:17 NIV)

​

In what dimension did invisible “horses and chariots of fire” actually exist?
Were they part of our dimension?

Were they part of a parallel dimension?
Either way, God caused some phenomenon by which the servant got a peek into a realm previously inaccessible.

Likewise, similar questions could be asked of other “ghostly” phenomenon.
Where did Samuel exist before he was summoned by the Witch of Endor?

Where were Moses and Elijah before they joined Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?
In this sense, heaven and hell may not exist within our universe at all (as in “up” or “down”) but are dimensions that run parallel to ours (or dimensions that are partitioned to us).

Which could mean that ghosts (or angels, or other phenomenon) manifest in a similar way that the Elishian fiery chariots did — they are just privileged glimpses into the Hell and/or Heaven which runs parallel to our own.

Again, this is all speculation. I’m not trying to further any theory.
I’m only suggesting that immediately categorizing ghosts (or other paranormal-type phenomenon) as “demonic” doesn’t do justice to the world framed by Scripture.

And science.
While the Bible is not definitive as to the nature of ghosts, nor how the dead interact, if at all, with our world, Scripture is clear in its denunciation of necromancy, sorcery, and witchcraft (Deut. 18:9-12).

We are forbidden, in explicit terms, from summoning, consulting, or communicating with the dead.
So whatever conclusion a believer reaches about ghosts, inviting them, consulting them, or letting them hang around is the wrong thing to do.

Seeing our world as a supernatural place is one thing; validating every supernatural phenomenon is another.
In this, we do well to exercise great caution.

Either way, the development of quantum theory opens the door to several possible explanations for ghosts and ghostly phenomenon, some of which corroborate a biblical worldview.

 

[Skarekrow]

 

[Flygirl]

Doesn’t necessarily match my point of view but then everything it wouldn’t be as interesting…I can appreciate this article incorporating the writer’s Christian beliefs.
It’s also interesting to me to see that other perspective, but also one that can easily mesh with my own too.
Plus…I don’t discount that parts of the Bible and other such religious doctrines hold value in many ways.
Anyhow, enjoy!

Ghosts and Quantum Theory

by MIKE DURAN


​

I didn’t expect to be talking about ghosts as much as I have lately.
But thanks to the release of The Ghost Box, that’s exactly what has happened.

One reader was surprised to learn that ghost boxes are real things.
At least, they purport to be real things.

In fact, you can even purchase ghost boxes, spirit scanners, and ghost hunting kits online.
Course, the one in my novel is 20 stories high and sitting in the middle of downtown Los Angeles.

I’ve also conducted two different radio interviews, both in which I was asked about ghosts, especially from an evangelical perspective.
While the Christian Church is largely resolved as to the nature of the afterlife (heaven and hell) and its denizens (angels and demons), there is no consensus as to an “in between” state and possible “overlaps” therein.

Are the dead aware of us?
Can they interact with us?

If so, what forms do those interactions take?
Or is all such “contact” categorically evil?

The more questions one asks, the further we get into territory beyond our explaining.
And beyond biblical proof-texting.

This, however, has not stopped us from trying to explain paranormal phenomenon.
Ghosts are no exception.

Evangelicals, for the most part, have come to define ghosts as demons.
There are several reasons — good reasons — to do so.

One is the Bible’s position on death. “…man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Heb. 9:27 NIV).
Souls don’t get second chances.

And hauntings seem to lack the finality that Scripture seems to suggest.
Another reason is the fixed nature of our eternal state.

It’s either heaven or hell.
Forever. (Even those who believe in purgatory see it as a holding tank for one or the other.)

As such, the Bible provides glimpses of souls in eternal torment or eternal bliss.
Frankly, we don’t see many souls traipsing about unsure of where they’re headed.

A final factor in the “ghosts are demons” position is the biblical warnings about “deceiving spirits” (I Tim. 4:1; I Jn. 4:1).
We are in a “struggle” against “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12).

Not only are there spirits out there, many of them want to do us in and perpetrate “another gospel” (Gal. 1:8) .
The medium who claims to speak to the dead, but communicates a message contrary to the Gospel, is probably speaking to someone other than Uncle Bob’s ghost.

But while there is good reason to see ghosts as demons – at the least, something malevolent – the Bible seems to offer some “contrary” evidence as to their nature and existence.

The most famous and perhaps the most puzzling “ghost incident” in Scripture is Saul and the Witch of Endor (I Samuel 28).
When Saul compels a seer to summon the prophet Samuel, they witness “a spirit coming up out of the ground” (vs. 13 NIV).

The spirit is recognized as the dead prophet who validates himself by prophesying against Saul (vss. 16-19).
So was Samuel a ghost?

And where was he before his invocation?
Whatever your answer, the manifestation of Samuel’s “ghost” is possible evidence of another category of existence, neither demon nor angel but disembodied man, still able to interact with our earthly plane.

Another monkey wrench in the “ghosts are demons” case is The Mount of Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-8) where two dead prophets – Moses and Elijah — manifest alongside Jesus.

Were they ghosts?
Had they been physically resurrected?

Scripture is unclear.
Complicating matters was the fact the prophets “were talking with Jesus” (vs. 4 NIV), a sort of inter-dimensional conversation.

Still another account is Jesus’ appearance to His disciples after His crucifixion.
Luke records this:

While [the disciples] were still talking… Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.” (Luke 24:36-39 NIV, emphasis mine)

​

Notice, the disciples immediately assumed they’d seen a ghost, suggesting that ghosts were an admissible category within their culture.
Even more interesting, Jesus does not rebuke them for this belief.

In fact, He seems to substantiate it: “a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have” (vs. 39).
This is important because, Christians have historically maintained that Christ resurrected in His same body.

Even though the risen Jesus had the ability to vanish (Lk. 24:31) and suddenly appear in locked rooms (Jn. 20:19, 26), He was not a ghost.
Among other things, this tells us that ghosts are not resurrected souls (and vice-versa), which means they are… something else.

But while evangelicals typically sift such questions through the grid of Scripture, there’s another growing body of theory and research that is being used to explain paranormal phenomenon.

In outlining 10 Scientific Explanations for Ghostly Phenomenon, Nolan Moore writes about the much heralded research of two physicists concerning life after death:

Quantum mechanics is the study of the smallest types of matter, and it has led to some pretty awesome inventions.
However, it can get pretty weird when physicists start talking about souls and ghosts.

Take, for example, Dr. Stuart Hameroff and his physicist friend Roger Penrose.
Hameroff and Penrose theorize that human consciousness comes from microtubules inside our brain cells, and these tubules are responsible for quantum processing (our souls basically).

Hameroff and Penrose believe when people have a near-death experience, all that quantum information leaves the brain, yet continues to exist, which is why some people report out-of-body experiences and lights at the end of tunnels.

As you might expect, a lot of scientists have problems with Hameroff and Penrose’s theory.
But Dr. Henry Stapp isn’t one of them.

As a respected quantum physicist who worked with the famous Heisenberg, Stapp believes that a person’s personality might be able to survive death and exist as a “mental entity.”

Stapp theorizes if these entities could return to the physical world, then concepts like possession and channeling could really be possible.

​

Which has led some to speculate that ghosts could actually be “mental entities,” an individual’s “quantum information” that has somehow returned or intersected the physical world.

If this is true, possession and channeling could indeed be seen as the intrusion of a real “mental entity” into another.
Some have looked to Albert Einstein’s work concerning the conservation of energy as proof of ghosts.

For example, ghost researcher John Kachuba, in his book Ghosthunters (2007, New Page Books), writes,

“Einstein proved that all the energy of the universe is constant and that it can neither be created nor destroyed. … So what happens to that energy when we die? If it cannot be destroyed, it must then, according to Dr. Einstein, be transformed into another form of energy. What is that new energy? … Could we call that new creation a ghost?”

​

As with most of this stuff, it’s complete speculation.
Nevertheless, it shows how questions that were once consigned to the purely spiritual or metaphysical are getting play in science circles.

Multiverse theory and parallel universes are another branch of quantum science that potentially explains ghosts.
In a parallel universe, what we call ghosts could actually be persons or entities from a parallel universe or dimension.

Stephen Hawking has suggested that time is not necessarily linear, but that it can, on occasion, curl back on itself, creating loops or eddies.
In this sense, it’s possible that ghosts can be explained as spirits or beings somehow trapped in a time loop. (Note, this theory is also used to explain deja vu experiences, in which an individual essentially encounters some sort of time loop and temporarily intersects their own future.)

Multiverse theory could conjecture that ghosts are living people we are seeing from another time.
Sometimes called an Einstein Rosen Bridge or “wormhole,” this theory could postulate that what we call ghosts are actually living beings traversing wormholes from other dimensions.

Interestingly, the Bible seems to lend credence to the idea of parallel universes or dimensions existing alongside ours, yet remaining unseen.
Take for instance the story of Elisha and his servant.

They are surrounded by an enemy army and the servant fears for his life.
But Elisha is, apparently, privy to an invisible dimension impinging upon their own.

And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.”
Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (II Kings 6:17 NIV)

​

In what dimension did invisible “horses and chariots of fire” actually exist?
Were they part of our dimension?

Were they part of a parallel dimension?
Either way, God caused some phenomenon by which the servant got a peek into a realm previously inaccessible.

Likewise, similar questions could be asked of other “ghostly” phenomenon.
Where did Samuel exist before he was summoned by the Witch of Endor?

Where were Moses and Elijah before they joined Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration?
In this sense, heaven and hell may not exist within our universe at all (as in “up” or “down”) but are dimensions that run parallel to ours (or dimensions that are partitioned to us).

Which could mean that ghosts (or angels, or other phenomenon) manifest in a similar way that the Elishian fiery chariots did – they are just privileged glimpses into the Hell and/or Heaven which runs parallel to our own.

Again, this is all speculation. I’m not trying to further any theory.
I’m only suggesting that immediately categorizing ghosts (or other paranormal-type phenomenon) as “demonic” doesn’t do justice to the world framed by Scripture.

And science.
While the Bible is not definitive as to the nature of ghosts, nor how the dead interact, if at all, with our world, Scripture is clear in its denunciation of necromancy, sorcery, and witchcraft (Deut. 18:9-12).

We are forbidden, in explicit terms, from summoning, consulting, or communicating with the dead.
So whatever conclusion a believer reaches about ghosts, inviting them, consulting them, or letting them hang around is the wrong thing to do.

Seeing our world as a supernatural place is one thing; validating every supernatural phenomenon is another.
In this, we do well to exercise great caution.

Either way, the development of quantum theory opens the door to several possible explanations for ghosts and ghostly phenomenon, some of which corroborate a biblical worldview.

Wow! Wow! Wow! I am very excited by this. It is what I have been trying to say (perhaps not as articulately) but yeah, its all there. I will definitely have to take a printout of this. Thanks Skarekrow!

 

[Skarekrow]

Wow! Wow! Wow! I am very excited by this. It is what I have been trying to say (perhaps not as articulately) but yeah, its all there. I will definitely have to take a printout of this. Thanks Skarekrow!

You know, it’s times like this when I wish I had my final paper for my Writing class I took in college.
It was supposed to be a persuasive essay…well, the region where I lived then was very conservative christian right-wing type ideology.
Anyhow, they (the non-introverted Christians) start yammering about writing their's against abortion, or against gay marriage, and they went through this whole list of topics who’s soul purpose was to justify hating someone from my perspective.
So I chose “Why there is no Hell.”
Got an A++
Had several ask for copies so they could go ask questions to their pastors - I would say it was highly successful and surpassed the intended goal of being some sand in the vaseline…hehe.
I should just re-write it and post it up one day…I think I made a thread of it once on the forum.
I find it all fascinating…I love the mental gymnastics pondering such things bring forth.
BTW, don’t feel like I’m attacking or discounting Christianity somehow either, everyone is entitled to their own beliefs…who the hell am I to say you are wrong on such subjective and honestly personal material?
;-)

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

This video has shown up twice in my feed...so I thought I'd share it here.

Does it look real to you?

[video=youtube;ST6X0Ra7zOQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ST6X0Ra7zOQ&feature=share[/video]

Those clouds that swirl look like a barred spiral galaxy. Do you see the resemblance? Is not that beautiful?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy#Barred_Spiral_Galaxy