The data shows that 73%, or almost three quarters of the people who responded to the poll, believe in at least one of the ten items that were presented to them, down only very slightly from the 76% that was determined by an identical poll that was conducted four years earlier. Only 1% believe in all ten items, but as the number of items is reduced from ten, the cumulative percentage of believers rises dramatically. Data from similar polls going back to 1990 indicate a steady, if slow, rise in belief in a number of the items listed. There is, however, some difference between Christians and non-Christians: the former group scores a 75% likelihood of belief, while the latter scores 66%, still both in the majority. Only 27% of the respondents believe in none of the ten items listed. (thank you, Wikipedia)
Our belief at RISEUP is that paranormal experiences fall into three distinct categories and it is important that we try to understand - if not actually label - the nature and possible cause of the event before rushing to judgment :
Psychological - At times stress, grief, anger, sleep depravation or any number of other factors can alter the limbic system of the brain, contributing to unusual "encounters". Such strong feelings projected from an emotionally-charged state of mind may in extremes, result in what are commonly termed as poltergeist hauntings wherein physical objects move seemingly of their own accord. Oftentimes, the particular objects affected are somehow related to the cause of the problem. If a family member has passed away, a picture of that person might fall off the wall or a former possession of theirs may display movement as the emotion of a grieving survivor grows stronger. Your airborne coffee may quite possibly fall in that category depending on your particular state of mind at the time. Much poltergeist (German for "noisy ghost") activity surrounds (but is not limited to) adolescent girls going through many physical and psychological changes. Long story short and in theory - and much of this is exactly that - a person's own psychokinetic energy may cause this type of activity to occur (yes, like Carrie at the prom). Perhaps then, a ghost isn't the cause of these events, but just a manifestation of the event itself. Maybe you are not an adolescent or have one residing in your home, but that doesn't necessarily limit the possibility of activity. It such cases, one has to evaluate their own individual state of mind at the time these events occur before declaring them paranormal .
Environmental - There are forces around you, both naturally-occurring and man-made that can contribute to unusual phenomenon. Not the least of which are things like un-bracketed heating pipes, creaky floorboards, poorly-sealed windows, normal light reflections, air-movement, animals and a whole host of other residential and nature-related reasons that can deceive anyone into thinking there is something more sinister afoot. A hot-button issue and a topic of some debate amongst parapsychologists are the presence of EMFs (electromagnetic frequencies) in the atmosphere. While controlled laboratory experiments have yielded positive results that people exposed to low-level EMFs for a prolonged period of time can experience feelings of paranoia, delusion or even hallucinations, there has been no real definitive proof as yet that this is the reason for any widespread parallel occurrences in the everyday world. While every home has the potential to emit potentially harmful EMFs to its occupants, the number of persons actually proven to display adverse effects of such are relatively small, perhaps 2 in 1,000. Some of the main culprits are objects like digital alarm clocks, microwave ovens and the omnipresent cell phone. Living under power lines is also a red flag for potential dangers as are "leaks" in common wiring. Balancing that theory is something called Galvanic Skin Response, a condition where the outside layer of our skin does its best to protect us from harmful radiation waves. Your GSR can be detected by means of an electroencephalogram (EEG). The higher the level (most people are at about 175), the less the risk of being affected. The lower - the more susceptible one can be. The Earth itself emits natural geomagnetic waves that can also affect an individual's state of mind. As a result, we strongly feel your susceptibility as well as your exposure to these conditions has to be taken into consideration before declaring EMFs to be anything more than a possible cause of a paranormal experience. Using EMF exposure as a blanket theory for unusual occurrences as some are prone to do discounts any likelihood of an actual supernatural event. The drawback here, admittedly, is that EEGs aren't exactly standard procedure come check-up time.
Spiritual - These are the least likely and as a result the most fascinating explanation for paranormal experiences. This is what you are left with when all other reasonable causes - to the best of one's ability - are systematically eliminated. But taking a step back for a second, we need to determine what a ghost is before declaring you are sharing your space with one. This is tricky at best as there really are nothing more than theories with regard to this. Ghosts (I prefer spirits) are best summed up as some piece of the human persona that remains behind after death. Now this energy might present itself in various ways: in a full torso, smells or sounds, including voices. I agree with those who believe that if spirits exist, they would project themselves to living humans as they once saw or perceived themselves. Why else would they wear clothing when they appear or present themselves at a younger age? How we can actually witness them is another story as it is thought that the presence of a spirit's energy can somehow affect our senses, allowing the mind to perceive or "see" them as it processes what the senses tell it to. As our individual senses differ in varying degrees from someone else's, it might explain why there aren't more mass sightings.
There are instances where a spirit may attempt visual or audible contact with a living being. For the most part, this type of encounter is termed "intelligent" because there is some conscious interaction between the spirit and its human target. The floating coffee cup might be an example of this as the spirit seeks to gain your attention (although there are tidier ways of doing so).
These are not true "hauntings" though as they can vary in length and frequency or occur only in times of crises. A true haunting is of a constant nature and are commonly known as "residual" haunts. Residual hauntings have to do with the imprint of spirit energy on the surrounding material environment. It has been theorized that a home, building or even land can somehow record activities that have occurred in that space. It is speculated that, especially in times of great emotional or physical duress, tragedy or sudden trauma from loss of life, that human energy releases into the atmosphere and remains there. There is no communication or interaction in these instances because you are not really perceiving an individual spirit, but watching a type of "video" that repeats itself over and over. The apparition is not aware of your presence. Trying to interact with them would be the same as talking to characters on your television and expecting them to respond to you.
Likewise, we must also recognize the possibility that these residual activities may not always signal the presence of a spirit. Any exertion of human life force may cause an imprint in the environment. The "person" you see climbing the stairs may have lived a very long and happy life, but because they used those stairs so frequently in their lifetime, their energy remains imprinted in that location.
(Take a short break here to clear your mind of the inevitable confusion I have brought forth. Hey, at least we're saving parallel universes for another article)
At the end of the day, people from all walks of life - every religion, gender, nationality and race - experience things that are seemingly unrelated to the world they know and live in and the beliefs that have become instilled in them. At some point, opening the mind to extreme possibilities can be more of a burden on the individual than simply dismissing them as absurdity. Whether we want to admit it or even care to, there are forces on this planet and in our subconscious minds that we have yet to come to terms with and truly understand. Scientists oftentimes rush to discount paranormal experiences because they don't fall into what their discipline has taught them - that if a result cannot be duplicated, you are forced to conclude that it is invalid.
The fly in that ointment is when the human element is introduced. Humans are by nature unpredictable creatures with an annoying habit of analyzing, rather than simply reacting. Behavioral patterns are affected by emotions. If a human spirit's energy remains behind, is it not at least feasible to suggest that it may retain some of these imperfect characteristics and retain some of the personality traits it had in life? It does not show itself on demand, it comes and goes as it pleases. It has a mischievous nature, a loving nature, an evil nature or some combination of all three depending on its mood and how it is being affected by outside forces. Many skeptics are quick to dismiss claims of hauntings because they simply don't believe they exist and no amount of contrary data short of a personal experience will sway them. Fine, we need skeptics and claims should be approached with a skeptical eye. But to dismiss the number and types of experiences people are having out of hand without examination flies directly in the face of all that science is about.
Applied science is based on introducing fresh ideas into a field of study. How is that done when the field becomes stagnant because of disinterest? People are seeing things outside the realm of the natural order. Or is it actually a part of the natural order we have yet to discover?
Enjoy your stay on the Paranormal Planet. Don't fear it, you are not alone. Just enjoy the ride.
