Do you have any paranormal experineces?

[no one]

Lady is a Jedi. She's just not conscience of it.

[LadyForCamus]

I had two experiences in my childhood home between the ages of 13 and 16. Both incidents involved an inanimate object flying across the room. The first incident happened in the living room while I was in my bedroom, so I didn’t see it (but I heard it), and it upset the family dog terribly. I witnessed the second incident with my own eyes. I’m sure there is a scientific explanation for the phenomena, but hell if I can fathom what it might have been. Any thoughts from our physics-educated gang?

Menstruation?

I literally never rule that out as a cause. 😁

[fredd bear]

@LadyForCamus

What you have described is classic poltergeist (german;"noisy ghost') activity.

In his autobiography, 'Memories, Dreams And Reflections', pioneer psychologist Carl Jung describes similar experiences of his own. One including a large solid dining room table suddenly splitting from end to end.

Dr Jung maintained a lifelong interest in poltergeists, and details other episodes described by others.

Jung's noticed that there were often* adolescent children on the premises during poltergeist activity. He concluded that adolescents exuded some type of sexual energy which caused the activity.

*'often', not invariably.

I don't find that explanation terribly satisfying. I should also add that it was the good doctor who coined the term 'synchronicity" to describe seemingly meaningful coincidences. However, his autobiography is worth reading, I don't think he was a complete loon ,just a bit eccentric. He was
a contemporary of Freud. They didn't get on.

You might find article via the link below of interest: "Ten Scientific Reasons For The Appearance Of Poltergeists, Ghosts, And Other Evil Spirits" .

https://hybridtechcar.com/2013/10/04/10-...l-spirits/

There's a lot of stuff on line, pro and con, as one might expect. There doesn't seem to be a consensus. The thing I found most interesting is the idea of many different causes. Because these events seem similar, they tend to be discussed as if there is a single cause. Because the events are no way identical, there is no reason to assume they have a common cause.

My conclusion is that poltergeist activity most probably has several scientific explanations. Doesn't seem to be an area with a lot or serious research happening. I suspect it may take some time before anything approaching a consensus is reached.

[EgoDeath]

@LadyForCamus

What you have described is classic poltergeist (german;"noisy ghost') activity.

In his autobiography, 'Memories, Dreams And Reflections', pioneer psychologist Carl Jung  describes similar experiences of his own. One including a large solid dining room table suddenly splitting from end to end.

Dr Jung maintained a lifelong interest in poltergeists, and details other episodes described by others.

Jung's noticed that  there were often* adolescent children on the premises during poltergeist activity.  He concluded that adolescents exuded some type of sexual  energy which  caused the activity.

*'often', not invariably.

I don't find that explanation terribly satisfying. I should also add that it was the good doctor who coined the term  'synchronicity" to describe seemingly meaningful coincidences. However, his autobiography is worth reading, I don't think he was a complete loon ,just a bit  eccentric. He was
a contemporary of Freud. They didn't get on.

You might find article via the link below of interest: "Ten Scientific Reasons For The Appearance Of Poltergeists, Ghosts, And Other Evil Spirits" .

https://hybridtechcar.com/2013/10/04/10-...l-spirits/

There's  a lot of stuff on line, pro and con, as one might expect. There doesn't seem to be a consensus. The thing I found most interesting is the idea of many different causes. Because these events seem similar, they tend to be discussed as if there is a single cause.  Because the events are no way identical, there is no reason to assume they have a common cause.

My conclusion is that poltergeist activity most probably has several  scientific explanations.  Doesn't seem to be an area with a lot or serious research happening.  I suspect  it may take some time before anything approaching a consensus is reached.

This is also, of course, operating under the assumption that we are willing to take people's words at face value. While I have little reason to be skeptical of @LadyForCamus's claims, I have no idea what kind of motivations someone like Jung might have. It's reasonable to question his motives since we don't have verifiable evidence that these extraordinary things happened, other than taking his word for it. It'd be one thing if someone claimed that a glass fell over on its own or if a door slammed all by itself, things we've all, no doubt, experienced at one point or another. But when you start claiming that your dining room table split in half in a violent burst, I think we have good reason to start asking some serious questions. An extraordinary claim like that requires some serious evidence, so I think it's fair to wonder if someone making a claim like this is even telling the truth.

[Aoi Magi]

Well, I have stayed in quite a few "haunted" places cause I used to be fascinated by that kind of stuff, but I think the ghosts hate me or something cause they never show up for me. The closest I've ever gotten to something interesting I guess was when I was staying at a rented apartment where someone had accidentally died in the bath. There, every few nights apart I'd hear a sort of scratching noise from near the bathroom, and my personal soap-bowl would be moved from one corner of the shelf to the other (I never saw it actually being moved though, that'd have been so much cooler, oh well!). In my mind I've explained it away as rats, but it still nags at me at times because my room was on the 8th floor and the building was pretty clean with no signs of rats anywhere, and I don't think rats would be that interested in my soap instead of the ample amount of takeouts in my garbage bin!

[Fake Messiah]

Ha! Ha! You folks are bunch of amateurs. As I understand it people like Christians experience paranormal happenings 0-24 (or at least they think they do).

Read how Dan Barker explains his supernatural experiences when he was a Christian until the hilarious culmination:

I used to think that everything that happened to me had a spiritual significance. If I was looking for a parking space and a car pulled out of a space right near where I wanted to be, then I would say, “Thank you, Jesus, for giving me a place to park.” If I had to park six blocks away, I would say, “Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me patience.” The bible says “All things work together for good to them that love God.” I viewed all income as an undeserved gift from heaven. I tried to interpret every news event as fitting into God’s plan for the world. If something bad happened then I would say, “There is the price for evil.” If something good happened then I would say, “There is a sign of God’s blessing.” Any news from the Middle East was a sign that God was focusing attention on the site of the arena for the last days, which was just around the corner. Nothing in my life was accidental. Every occurrence was a lesson to be learned, or a part of divine purpose, or a temptation from the Devil. Behind the visible world was a very real spiritual world inhabited by angels, demons, spirits and saints, all fighting to win my soul and demolish the other side. As you might imagine, this made my life very interesting.

One day I was driving home through the foothills east of Modesto, California. I was thinking about my ministry and praying that God would teach me how to follow his direction. I really wanted to obey God, to be a faithful servant, and to recognize His “true voice” in my spiritual ear. As I was traveling down the highway I “heard” my mind say, “Turn right.” I figured this had to be the voice of God, and if I was ever to learn how to obey I had better do what I was told. I turned right. The little road led off into farmland and I just kept driving, waiting for another signal. After a while I heard the voice again: “Turn left.” So I turned left. This kept up, turning here and there, and I was beginning to feel excited about what God might have in store for me when I got to wherever he was leading me. Maybe, I thought, there would be some lost, godless person who was desperate to hear the gospel. Or, maybe I would find a generous donor to my ministry.
 
I kept driving until I came to a dirt road out in the middle of nowhere, and I heard, “Turn here.” I turned and drove about a half-mile to a dead end in the middle of a cornfield. I stopped my car and turned off the engine, looking around for whatever it was that God had in mind. I really expected someone to come walking out of the corn, or something like that. After about 15 minutes I began to feel rather stupid. Then a few minutes later I realized that there must have been some other reason why God would bring me out to the dead-end of a dirt road. It finally dawned on me: God was testing my faithfulness! With a warm feeling all over my body I felt the Spirit say, “I am proud of you, Dan. You are an obedient child. You can go now.”

[fredd bear]

"This is also, of course, operating under the assumption that we are willing to take people's words at face value."

Of course everyone lies, it's just a matter of degree.

Simplest explanation is that most people are reasonably honest in what they report. EG , I suspect that at least some alien abductees believe they were abducted by aliens. I also think human beings are gullible, hence the stunning saturation of various religious beliefs, containing the most fatuous nonsense. You don't need to look further than this forum and its resident Christian dills.

I have no idea of Jung's motivations. From reading his autobiography, he seemed to be sincere, but deluded about some things.

The magician Houdini spent years exposing fake mediums .( he desperately wanted to contact his mum.) We even see 'real' psychics on TV. As I said, people are gullible. They want to believe the woo; reality is often far less interesting, and, at base far more frightening .EG Life after death, and paradise is far more comforting (for many) than the notion that death is the end of personal existence. The comparison is often made with a dreamless sleep. That sounds fine to me; death is not an experience. However, dying often is, and I admit to being terrified of THAT.

I go to a mens group. Ages range from late 50's to 85. This week, we lost another member .Our friend was 81, had a stroke at home, with his family, around, and died. A very likeable guy, we will all miss him. A common comment after expressing sorrow, was "the lucky bastard!"--not for him the slow physical decline and death by inches of dementia, in a strange place. (nursing home) I should be so lucky.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Jung's noticed that  there were often* adolescent children on the premises during poltergeist activity.  He concluded that adolescents exuded some type of sexual  energy which  caused the activity.

There's a very good reason that Jung concluded this.  He was bat-shit crazy.

Boru

[LadyForCamus]

I have, at times, questioned the reality of my own memories. I had undiagnosed (unspoken of, really) psychiatric issues during my formative years, and there is a small part of me that wonders if I was hallucinating. I had experienced two instances of auditory hallucinations during those years, and once, a delusion. I don’t think it’s likely that both instances were full-on hallucinations, but I suppose I can never effectively rule it out.

[viocjit]

All those who claim they have paranormal experiences are wrong because paranormal experience does exist only in the brain and not in real world.
I think there are a rational explanation for all alleged paranormal case. If we don't find one. This is because we didn't found it yet.