Why I Dis the Supernatural
Offline I wasn't always as skeptical as I am now concerning supernatural claims. I've had a few experiences in life that caused me to think about possibilities beyond the mundane, but inevitably what would happen is that some time after the event, I would read,see or hear something that would offer a rational explanation for what I had previously entertained as paranormal. Unlike fans of SN and PN, I didn't find it disappointing to learn that the ghost the kids thought was haunting the house was in fact a stray kitten that had gotten accidently locked in the attic. I found it liberating and exciting.For example, I had a rather frightening experience that some of my religious and new age friends assured me was a succubus attack and I enetertained that idea until I learned what sleep paralysis is. Once I started reading about SP, it was very liberating and fascinating at the same time. You see, I'm one of those types of guys who likes to know how things work and what makes them tick. If I enjoy a horror, fantasy or sci fi movie, I'm always more interested in how the special effects were done than the intial feeling I got in the theatre when I saw the movie. One of the reasons why I only accept scientific evidence for things regarding the supernatural or paranormal is that it shuts off most of the avenues of subjective mistakes and strips the mystery "woo" factor out so we can look into what's REALLY going on. I've always been like this,even when I was a kid, however, when I was younger, I was more open to accepting SN or PN phenomena then I am now, , but life experiences and study have pretty much closed those doors.
An even bigger reason why I dis belief systems that are dependent on the SN is that I have years of experience in the Bible Belt with family members and I've seen first hand how SN beliefs exacerbate allready existing mental disorders. In short, I don't think they are good for you. I am writing a book about those experiences.
"Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings."
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I think of the supernatural as a fun way of exercising the imagination, fictitiously. Once it is applied to reality, problems arise.
I've experienced things that didn't make sense at the time. One of them still hasn't been adequately explained. I doubt it ever will be, and suspect there is simply information about the incident that I had no access to.
And that is the trick. Theists and other crackpots are quick to jump on the supernatural bandwagon, instead of assuming they are merely not in possession of all the facts.
Enlightened Atheist, Gaming God.
I once saw a 'ghost'. As clear an image as if the person were in the room with me.
It was before/after/during a nap back in my university days in my dorm room. I opened my eyes and saw in the middle of the room an image of a female friend of mine, sitting in a rocking chair and rocking back and forth, and laughing. Only there was no sound at all, completely silent.
I blinked and looked again, and it was gone.
The above is my actual, factual experience.
However, I did not think, "Oh my FSM! I've seen a real ghost!" Instead I thought, "Oh my FSM! Now I know what some people mean when they say they've seen a real ghost! What a very convincing hallucination that was!" There were no unusual substances involved, BTW. My friend was and is still alive.
Later, I learned about hypnagogic hallucinations, and that put all the puzzle pieces together. It's not a coincidence it occurred right around the time of a nap.
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